


Hellsing: The Dusk

by Waruitenshi



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Hellsing, Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Symbiotes - Fandom, Venom (Comics)
Genre: Abandonment, Acceptance, Action, Adorable, Alice in Wonderland References, Alien Suit, Alternate Universe, Anime/Manga Fusion, Anti-Hero, Awkward Sexual Situations, Biting, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Bloodletting, Bloodlust, Bloodplay, Bonding, Boys' Love, Character Development, Childishness, Consensual Violence, Corruption, Creepy, Creepy Fluff, Crossover, Cute, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fantasy, Female Anti-Hero, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gothic, Guns, Heterosexuality, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Insanity, Insecurity, Jealousy, Knifeplay, Language, Loneliness, M/M, Mad Science, Magic, Male Homosexuality, Male Slash, Manipulation, Masochism, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Mind Games, Monsters, Multi, Mystery, Mystery Character(s), Occult, Other, Painplay, Possessive Alucard, Possessive Behavior, Psychological Trauma, Psychopaths In Love, Rejuvenated Walter, Romance, Sadism, Sexual Content, Sexual Humor, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Slow To Update, Sparring, Stalking, Suggestive Themes, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Symbiote - Freeform, Symbiotic Relationship, Teasing, Telepathic Bond, Tentacles, Trauma, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Unofficial Sequel, Vampires, Violence, Weapons, Webbing, Young Walter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-10 13:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 53,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/786666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waruitenshi/pseuds/Waruitenshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alucard returns to find that there's a new darkness on the horizon, as well as two new human additions to the Hellsing Organization: Liz & Henry. But after the mysterious Liz accidentally awakens Alucard, will she be able to survive the vampires growing fascination for her? Or be devoured by the devilish monster of Hellsing? Symbiote OFC. More details inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude to Double Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SLASH/YAOI LOVERS: I'm also making a Slash/Yaoi (male/male romance) Hellsing fic. Pip and Seras will still be their respective genders and in their pairing. X3 In case anyone was worried. 
> 
> It'll be called "Frost Bite" if you want to check it out. ^_^
> 
> Okay, so I went back and read the chapter "Mail and Mignonette" and felt that it started off a bit too slow, therefore I decided to bump it down to the second chapter and replace it with this one, that I hope you readers will be more exciting than the previous one. X3 
> 
> Someone said something about why Hellsing had a series called "Hellsing: The Dawn" and not the Dusk so I figured it was time someone made one, so to the person whom voiced that I thank you for the inspiration XD.
> 
> So anyways this story is set right after the manga… Well sort of. I'll elaborate. It's thirty years later like they said in the manga but it's in the time span BEFORE Alucard comes back. Don't worry he DOES come back in this story too but not just yet. Instead of the story taking place in 1999, it'll take place in 1984 so that the current date will be 2014. Integra will be 52 (she was 22 in the manga). It is a MARVEL/Hellsing crossover of sorts, and will have at least one symbiote that I'm telling about. ;3
> 
> Anyways, if you didn't read the Manga or watch the OVA's then this may spoil a few things for you as it does make mentions to some of what happened LOL but you should be fine I guess. Just read at your own risk. Kuwahahahahah!
> 
> And just so you know Seras is rightly paired with Captain Pip Bernadotte; the leader of the Wild Geese because I thought they made the perfect couple. Any other pairings that I have in this is a surprise but just know there will be at least one more.
> 
> Oh and just to be safe I changed the rating to "M" for my marvelous madness! Again, you read at your own risk. Usual warnings in profile. XD
> 
> Remember to review! :3

 

 

As life went on in the real world, a certain No Life King had long since been entangled with battles and problems of his own…

The marvelous widespread massacre and mayhem that had been wrought that night in the burning, bloodstained streets of London was certainly one to remember. Especially for a certain raven haired vampire who was still fighting that battle about thirty years later…

For a while after his fight with Walter, and no thanks to that stupid cat eared boy who worked for that crazy Major, Alucard had thought he had become nothing. That he had finally perished. But, such was not the case. For as the King of Vampires had always said, only a _human_ could kill a _monster_.

When he awoke within his own consciousness to realize that he needed to fight all of the lives that he had absorbed over the hundreds of years he had existed, did the red clad hunter wonder if he should.

The reason why he wondered such, was because he knew that once he had destroyed all of his lives, that that would be the end of it and he would awaken back in the real world to the same old boring reality…

Sure, there was his fledgling Seras, but the Police Girl was a true undead now. She didn't need him. Besides, she wasn't interested in being a vampire or killing or really anything that he liked to do. It was sort of like when a father realized he and his teenage daughter had absolutely nothing in common except being related to one another.

Though in their case, they were vampires, not relatives. And sure, Integra might be mad at him for not hurrying up, but what was she going to do about it? It's not like she could punish him.

Heh, and even if she could, what on Earth could the woman do to him? He laughed at the thought as he took his sweet time fighting against one soul after another. There were so many that Alucard could quite possibly keep himself busy for more than thirty years if he paced himself right.

It was so much more entertaining than what Integra and Seras were up to. Since the events in London, the excitement dwindled down to the occasional vampire hunt. Which was becoming rarer and rarer from what he could tell when he occasionally peeked in to check on his master and former fledgling.

Where he was, every day was a battle! And souls like those that belonged to Rip Van Winkle, the Dandy Man, and the Valentine brothers were positively more fun to torment and torture in any way he could think of than to simply destroy them.

 **Oh yes!** What _games_ they played when he wasn't slaying some hapless solider or fool he happened to absorb after drinking their blood. He flayed and slayed and played to his unbeating hearts content!

It was the perfect place for him to be until he had a good reason to return to reality. And so, the years passed as he let himself become engrossed with one fight after the other, while the world outside carried on and changed.

Then one day, something happened that was most unexpected… Something that Alucard thought would never occur in his unlife… _Something_ most curious caught his attention, and made him begin to rethink his slaughterous vacation.

It was a typical boring day in the household of the Hellsing manor, when he noticed a change in his master. The blonde woman was all in a huff about something. But he had no idea what.

All he knew was that it involved a phone call late one night, and that Integra had been most upset about it that she had been about to leave to go somewhere in quite a hurry, when some strange men in suits came to escort her elsewhere.

Apparently the reason for their visit, whatever it was, involved the same reason that Integra was so upset; or so he guessed. Reluctantly, the strong woman left with them; being sure to take Seras with her to ensure they didn't do anything unsavory.

But when they returned, Integra did NOT look pleased. And for many years, such was the one eyed woman's mood; though she only showed it when she thought no one was around. She hadn't counted on Alucard spying on her to see what was going on with his master.

Then, one day, a letter came that seemed to stir a contradictory of emotions from the usually cool and collected woman. She seemed both happy and apprehensive about something to do with that blasted letter.

Though, after a few days had passed, and another unexpected arrival to the mansion appeared, Alucard couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about. Though, had the ravenous ravenet known the entire story that had happened on that fateful night a little over ten years ago, he would've better understood.

Even so, the vampire had an inkling something _very_ interesting was going to happen. His instincts had hardly ever let him down before. And with the feeling that the world outside his own was about to get a hell of a lot more fun, did Alucard begin laying waste to the remaining souls he possessed.

And the curious dark warrior had to admit that he was quite surprised by what he caught through the small glimpses he managed to get through the mirrors and such of the mansion.

As well as what transpired later on that day, when the dusk fell over the Hellsing household, and the devilish vampire slayer caught sight of his new, and oddly **promising** source of _entertainment_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made my OC Henry years ago, but I decided to update his appearance; which was inspired by Austria from "Hetalia". A fav anime of mine. X3


	2. Mail and Mignonette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Integra gets a mysterious letter and Henry tries not to incur her wrath.

 

It was approximately thirty years later after the hellacious war with Millennia as a much older(approximately 52) Sir Integra Hellsing sat at the desk in her large office where she had been doing the usual paperwork. However, currently she studied the parchment in her hand with interest. The letter in question happened to be from a certain someone whom she knew very well.

The message reads as follows:

" _Dear Sir Integra Fairbrooke Windgates Hellsing,_

 _I am sending this letter to you in regards to the orders in which I was entrusted with a number of years ago when it happened. I do apologize for the tardiness in which my message may have reached you by Sir Hellsing, but I assure you it was rather unavoidable given the circumstances and that all but this has been going as closely as possible as to what was commanded of me. The package is secure and is estimated to be delivered by two o'clock on the 6_ _th_ _of June. When able to I shall be sure to contact you as soon as possible._

_Sincerely,_

_Commander Peter Ferguson."_

She quirked an eyebrow at this and wondered exactly what could be going on in which a letter might be the only means of communication, but then remembered exactly what went on there and decided that it was probably as he said and left it alone. If anything she could question him later on the matter.

For now she had more important things to ponder. For example this upcoming "delivery". She reached over and pulled her planner over to her. The date was currently June the fourth. Integra heaved a sigh. After all this time, it would seem a surprise had finally come up.

However, even for the leader of the Hellsing Organization, the usually confident female was unsure if this whole situation was a good thing or not. She was of course obliged to keep her word, but even so…

Her train of thought was interrupted at that very moment as she glanced up from the letter she had gone back to staring at to the one who slowly entered the room. She had been too absorbed to have even heard the familiar soft knock on her door.

After what had happened with Walter it had really put a damper on Integra hiring a replacement for him seeing as how she still hated the fact that she simply did not wish to go through it all over again.

So the blonde woman had taken to hiring Mr. Penwood's young grandson; figuring since the mans whole family behaved the same way it was at least a safer bet that she could just exterminate him herself if need be.

The figure who walked in rather cautiously carried with him a silver tray of tea and an assortment of delicious snacks to accompany it. With a side glance to the clock hanging on the wall she read that it was tea time.

Hmm, perhaps she was a bit too absorbed in thought. Or maybe it was old age? That thought irked her but she kept her usual aloof expression in tact; besides if she startled him then no doubt the poor lad would have a panic attack and drop anything he'd been carrying at the time. And quite frankly she'd lost enough tea pots and china to have learned this the hard way.

Waiting patiently to be served with her chin resting on her intertwined fingers did she turn her attention to see none other than Henry Penwood; a rather young man only in his early twenties.

He had somewhat wavy brown hair in a similar hairstyle to his father and grandfather. It was brushed back so it would be out of his face, with a wild curling strand in the front that seemed to refuse to be tamed. But thankfully, Henry had yet to grow a mustache like them, and in fact seemed incapable of doing so.

His build was definitely much leaner than theirs: sort of like Walter in his younger days, but more wiry and feminine, with a young, sweet attractive face and violet almond shaped eyes and a fair complexion.

The young, almost pretty man, wore a pair of thin silver rimmed glasses similar to Integra's however, his lenses were in an oval shape; giving him the overall appearance of a complete and utter good natured, yet clumsy and nervous for no reason, lad who just didn't have it all together in his head; much like his family.

In fact he nearly stumbled over nothing when he had only been just a few feet away from her desk. She tensed slightly, though not visibly enough for anyone else to have noticed.

Seeing as the only other person in the room was currently trying to catch and stable himself as he set the tray of tea and treats on the table before her with many mumblings of "Oh, I'm so sorry Sir Hellsing!" and "Please don't shoot me! I swear it won't happen again!"

But the blonde as usual simply ignored this, while he finished bowing apologetically and, went to pouring her tea as she pretended as if nothing were wrong. It was easier that way.

Young Henry felt so indebted to this woman, and what with the gracious way she behaved whenever he messed up (which was pretty much almost all the time it seemed) he nearly felt tears of happiness and gratitude welling up comically in his big violet eyes. But he snapped back and to attention with his arms snapping mechanically to his sides as his posture straightened when he heard his master say something.

"Henry-" She called him this since having two Mr. Penwood's was confusing to everyone. "-thank you for the tea." The aging blonde beauty would say in her usual calm tone; her mannerisms having only improved within the thirty years of experience. But then again she was always awesome like that so of course she would simply get better with age; like a fine wine.

"O-oh no tr-trouble at a-all Ma'am!" He would say with a small nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head out of slight habit. Yes, the endearing young Pennwood appeared to have a bit of a stuttering problem when he became nervous and so on. Blowing gently on the hot tea to cool it some did she take a slow, casual sip as she looked over the letter again with a look of mild pensiveness.

He stood there still at attention, though by now he learned not to be as tense, seeing as standing that way for long periods of time really made one stiff and sore since he would be staying like this until she dismissed him, which always took a while. He didn't mind, in fact he enjoyed being needed and helpful to Sir Integra Hellsing.

It was just that he had other chores around the vast mansion to do every day before he went to bed, which was usually pretty late in the evenings, since the fair blonde worked unusual hours. But that of course was the price he happily paid for having the honor of being in service to the great Sir Integra Hellsing.

At least six or seven minutes passed with the only other sounds in the room being the occasional sound of Integra sipping her beverage or taking a crunchy nibble from a scone. Then she looked up from the piece of paper, and turned her aloof attention to her butler.

He smiled nervously wondering, if she changed her mind about shooting him or something awful like that, due to his slight paranoia from all the warnings his father and his older brother had given him about how vital it was to stay on her good side.

"It would seem that we shall be expecting a drop off of sorts within two days. So there are a few things I need to go over with you about the preparations." She would say, while taking out a pad of paper and a pencil, and sliding it across the desk to him.

"You'd better write this down." The woman added knowingly as he gave a little curt nod while taking said items. They spent the next hour going over all the necessary information for the upcoming occasion before she dismissed him.

Having been quite finished with her tea by now, he would take the tray with him, as well as that list of things he would have to do along with the rest of his chores. Luckily she told him he only needed to worry about getting it done by the sixth and to make sure he attended to the important chores first as per usual.

Later that day, when the sun sank below the horizon and night began to fall did the little fledgling vampire known as Seras Victoria (but mainly Police Girl!), awoke from a pleasant days sleep. Usually her master, Integra would awaken her every once in a while to carry out a task or more, or just to ask when the heck she thought Alucard would return.

Even the optimistic Police Girl had to admit that even she was beginning to wonder when her vampiric master would be coming back. It had already been thirty years, and it wasn't as if Sir Integra was getting any younger.

In fact, she heaved a sigh at how fleeting a humans life could be, seeing as she herself would never age or feel any of its symptoms. The vampire would slump inside her coffin wondering what would have happened to her precious Captain Pip Bernadotte if she hadn't consumed his blood that night.

Would she have had to watch him age and die like this too? She doubted she would have had the heart to turn him into a vampire, much less him ever wanting to become one. Just then as her happy mood was being ruined by her rather stern thoughts did a voice pipe up in a rather annoyed and familiar tone.

" _Oi, Mignonette! Would you cheer up already? I'm 'ere ain't I! So you don't 'ave to worry about zat."_ Said the handsome Frenchman in her mind, and without even having to close her eyes, she could imagine the frown he wore.

Which he would try to pretend wasn't out of concern for his darling little Draculina. It brought a smile to her face as she sweatdropped and gave a little nervous giggle. "Oh, ri-iiiiiight! Forgot about that." Seras would reply to the spirit of the man she loved in her head.

Ever since she had consumed the blood of said mercenary were they able to communicate mentally. It seemed he decided to stick around in her head and never pay rent.

Though she didn't mind except whenever she was getting dressed in front of a mirror, or any place in which he could see her naked or in undergarments, the lecherous young man would give a teasing wolfish whistle, sing some perverted song or start making all sorts of suggestive comments and laugh at her always comical reactions. But the young vampire wouldn't have it any other way; though she would not admit this to the former leader of the Wild Geese.

She pushed the top off of her coffin and climbed out; walking tiredly and a tad ungracefully to her little bathroom to start her evening cleaning routine. After putting on a nice clean uniform, and feeling a bit more awakened and refreshed, did she make her way out of the basement room and upstairs.

Yes, she still walked. For one it saved energy, seeing as her master was still much stronger than her and he enjoyed randomly popping up around the mansion to spook people or show off; she wasn't entirely sure why he did it but she was sure it was something akin to those two things being the sadistic eccentric that he is… or was.

Upon passing by a clock and realizing the time, the shapely fledgling would hurry down the many halls and corridors to Sir Integra's office; stopping just short of the double doors to knock softly, then wait patiently.

Upon hearing her blonde master say "Come in." would she enter; poking her head in before the rest of her entered because she had always been rather cautious and politely comical like that.

Even though the two females bond had grown quite well over the many years of being together and working as Master and Servant, Seras can still act a bit timid every now and then; but mostly due to the fact that she had to keep from mentioning Integra's wrinkles or something upsetting/age related like that.

Although the Police Woman did find it rather comical to see her Master get riled up about an issue as common as aging when nothing else seemed to bother her. It was obvious to see that Integra had become much more comfortable around Seras and so they were able to behave oddly and neither minded in the least bit.

"Good evening Master." Seras would greet with that usual bright smile of hers as she gave a respectable bow. Integra merely glanced up from her paperwork; her usual cigar in the corner of her mouth. She casually withdrew it after taking a hit and then slowly exhaled; the little stream of smoke swirling around the formidable leader of the organization.

"Good evening to you as well Servant. The only assignment you have for this evening is training the troops and unloading the new shipment of ammunition. Never again do I want my men to run out of bullets before they run out of ghouls if our headquarters is ever invaded like thirty years ago." Integra said in her usual tone though Seras caught some sharpness to it.

And she couldn't blame her. It was a horrid fiasco involving those uncouth heathens that called themselves the Valentine Brothers. Though she hadn't met the other one she was sure anyone related to that Jan creep couldn't be much better.

The slightly disappointed Draculina was dismissed and thus gave another bow; her smile never wavering. "Yes Ma'am!" She said with a little salute to gesture enthusiasm though on the inside she was rather lacking it.

You see what with all of those Millennia bastards and their manmade vampires now gone there really weren't all that many Hellsing type situations going on. Apart from that, after the massive massacre that had happened throughout most of the region a lot of the real vampires had gotten annihilated in the crossfire and were having a heck of a time recouping themselves.

Their workload had pretty much gone down to a mere two or three missions a month. And to a vampire whose entire existence is supposed to be about serving the Master along with destroying these pests, there simply wasn't all that much to do and so she had mostly been assigned to training the new Hellsing recruits. Luckily though they still had a few of the surviving members of the Wild Geese and their descendants around to help with that. So even Seras Victoria had her own subordinates now.

The young vampire made her way with another small sigh down to the training field where the men were waiting. They liked their commander; though one could argue it was mostly because she was very pleasant to look at even when she yelled at them for doing something wrong.

Even so, they liked her better when she was happy with their improvements because that made them work harder to be praised by the sexy vampire, rather than get on her bad side and end up with her eye patch wearing familiar popping out to help Seras scold them. That just downright freaked them out; especially since he mostly cursed them in French… which only a very few of them seemed to speak.

" _What's zhe matter Mignonette?"_ Pip would ask while sitting in his usual laid back pose inside her mind, where he seemed to float coolly in that spot. Her recent attitude made him worried about her no matter how he tried to play it off otherwise. Seras paused in her trek down a corridor as she spoke softly aloud to him seeing as no one else was around to be bothered by a vampire talking to herself.

She gazed up at the ceiling with rather woeful glistening eyes. "You see Cap'n, it's just that when I first got 'ere… things were so chaotic and hectic that I never had a moments peace, and I grew so used to it that now.. this long state of calm makes me realize why Master Alucard was so fond of it all. It gave you something to do, so that you wouldn't have to focus on watching everything around wither and die."

Seras heaves another heavy sigh as Pip thinks this over. Sure he was stuck in her head but it wasn't like he knew every thought she had. He tried to give her some privacy after all.

" _Ah, no worries my little Police Girl! I'm sure zhings will pick back up. Zhere's always evil in zhe world to be dealt wizh. Sooner or later it'll rear its ugly 'ead."_ He would say with a cheerful and very confident tone as if he knew exactly that he was right. It definitely lifted her spirits, and so she decided to take his advice and not fret so much as she started off again toward her destination.

But little did anyone in the Hellsing Organization know just how true Pip's words would soon come to pass, for as the dusk turns to night, a new darkness creeps ever closer…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come on you know you want to see what that letter's all about and what the delivery is! I mean seriously it could be anything from an army of tiny pineapples that feed on plot bunnies or flamers or perhaps even ten million pudding cups! You never know.


	3. Rules and Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the mysterious package arrives...

And so the next day came and went with a similar uneventful amount of menial tasks and paperwork to do. In fact the only person who had anything new to do was Henry. And for anyone who may be wondering; his butlers uniform is much similar to Walter's, except instead of where there had been black there is tan and for red there now resides blue.

The young man dashed about the mansion all day getting things ready according to the list Sir Hellsing had him make prior; checking things off as he accomplished them just to ensure he did it right so as not to incur her wrath.

Sir Integra would be completing some paperwork and making a few phone calls for things like daily status reports, and the like, as well as setting up fencing sessions with Mr. Penwood(the father of Henry); since he was pretty much the only sparing partner she never got tired of. He wasn't that good but entertaining yes.

Later in the evening when it was time for Seras Victoria to awaken would she go about her usual routine, but this time her attitude was back to its previous optimism thanks to the man she loved. Their relationship was very interesting and anything but normal.

Whenever she fell asleep she was able to visit him inside her subconscious and the two could spend time together and touch as if they were both alive and in reality as she was still not powerful enough to summon him in a more solid form.

Sir Integra had some knowledge of this seeing as she sometimes heard Seras talking quietly to herself or rather to Pip. But the blonde didn't mind one bit so long as her servant did as she was ordered.

Henry would come happily popping into Integra's office late in the evening; looking rather exhausted but pleased with himself which is a rarity.

"It's all done Sir Hellsing and ready for tomorrow!" He reported with a deep bow. Integra had been gazing pensively out the window but stopped to turn her head.

"Good work butler… If that is all then you may be dismissed." She said, turning back. He paused and wondered if everything was alright.

"S-sir Integra… Is a-anything the matter?" The lad asked nervously but with concern in his tone. Even if he was so easily intimidated by her (and pretty much everyone else.. Heck a mouse could probably spook him) he was still a gentleman and basically her caretaker, so when ever she acted out of sorts or even the slightest bit out of her usual behavior he became a bit of a worrywart.

For a long and rather awkward moment (at least for Henry) she remained quiet while staring up at the starry night sky. Then when he thought she hadn't heard him and wondered if he should dare ask again, did the formidable woman speak, hands folded neatly behind her back.

"No… Just wondering what exactly tomorrow will bring and what the future shall hold. Should be interesting you know.." She said in a mysteriously matter of fact way as if that explained everything, but it only caused Henry to sweatdrop a little in utter confusion.

"You may go now. You've done enough for today Henry." Integra told him, and after a moments hesitation he decided it was best to simply do as she ordered and retire for the night.

"G-goodnight then Ma'am.." And with that he bowed before leaving the room. Only pausing to glance back at his master's moonlit form with a feeling of worry as he quietly closed the door behind him and went to finish up his nightly errands before retiring for the night.

June sixth came sooner than Integra had anticipated (seeing as she was still the only one who knew anything about the letter). Never the less she stood out in the hall with a nervous Henry at her side at the entrance of the manor. She gave the grandfather clock to her left a quick glance; it read fifty-seven minutes passed one.

Only three minutes to go, then barely a moment later the faint rumbling of a car pulling up could be heard. It stopped and then the next sounds went as follows; a car door was opened followed by foot steps and then another door being opened. A thud as something is placed on the ground before the door shuts again and then the pitter-patter of calm yet soft approaching footsteps up the stone steps.

Integra gazed aloofly at the double doors while all this happened as Henry wondered nervously just exactly what was going on outside. He practically jumped out of his skin when there came a knock on the door, even though it is a soft one.

He gives a rather awkward glance in his masters direction but she merely nodded for him to answer it. So Henry stepped forward and upon reaching the door and placing a hand on either knob to pull them open did his expression become a bit confused when he doesn't see anyone out there.

"U-uh…. Huh?" He exclaimed softly in bewilderment while looking around to see no one there.

'I c-could have sworn th-that I heard f-footsteps…?'

The only thing he could see was the vehicle driving off into the distance and a couple of large trunks sitting in front of the door. He sweatdropped nervously in confusion and was about to turn around and ask if what his master had been expecting was the trunks, when something popped down in front of him that his eyes couldn't quite focus in, for it appeared so suddenly and exclaimed loudly "I'LL BITE YOUR FACE!"

The poor meek butler screamed as he tried to scramble backwards but ended up tripping over his own feet and falling over; rolling a few times until he lay at his master's feet. And after a few moments of being dizzy and wondering why the ceiling was spinning did he realize that someone was laughing. With a small groan he managed to sit up only to be shocked again upon seeing just exactly what, or rather who had frightened him so.

He quickly hurried to his feet and straightened his glasses to see a young woman hanging upside down from a ledge above the outside entranceway as she laughed heartily at his expense.

Integra found this amusing for but a tiny moment, but then she cleared her throat which silenced the upside-down girl. Said female made a movement and landed with catlike grace on her feet.

Now that she had righted herself, Henry could better see the young woman who laughed at him a moment ago. She was perhaps an inch or so shorter than Sir Integra, with wild yet wavy hair, that was so pale a shade of brunette that where the sunlight shone upon it, it had an almost silvery tint.

The young woman smoothed out her simple attire that consisted of a plain purple T-shirt and a pair of slightly baggy black denim jeans with matching tennis shoes. Then she approached Integra, and Henry could see that she had a sun kissed complexion and her hair; though despite her having been upside-down earlier, hung neatly to her shoulders with the bangs brushed back so that they would be out of her face.

The young woman, who seemed to be in her twenties like Henry, smiled kindly at the blonde as she opened her arms in a gesture of embrace.

"Hello Aunt Integra, it's so very lovely to see you again. I do hope you have been well." And as she spoke, Henry was quite shocked to see Integra stepping forth to hug the young girl as she replied with a smile of her own; though it wasn't as big.

"Good afternoon Elizabeth, it is good to see you also and yes, I have been fair for the most part." Then after a couple of seconds both women stepped back and let their arms go back to their previous positions. Meanwhile, Henry nearly did a face plant.

"A-aunt?!" He exclaims in shocked horror; eyes large as tea saucers, but they simply ignored his silly reaction.

"Henry, fetch her things and bring them to her room before joining us in my office." The butler gave a shaky salute.

"Y-yes M-ma'am…" The two women began their casual stroll toward Integra's office as they continued to converse.

"Did you have a good trip?" Elizabeth's smile widened a bit.

"Oh yes, thank you for asking. It's been so long since I've been in London…"

"Hmm.. I am sorry about that but it couldn't be helped as I'm sure you are well aware.." She would open the door to her office and strode over to her desk. Her expression back to its norm, though her tone held a bit of sadness and irritation mixed together. As if she weren't too happy about the circumstances either. But this didn't seem to deter the brunettes airy attitude.

"I blame you not for it Aunt Integra, I am in fact quite happy that you have me here now."

"You know… you did give poor Henry quite a fright." Integra took her silver cigar case from off the corner of her desk and after picking one out, Elizabeth picked up the lighter and politely lit it for her aunt as the butler wasn't there to do it.

"Oh I couldn't help myself, but I shall be sure to apologize to him later." She would set the lighter back down and wait for her aunt to sit.

"Very well. But do go easy on him, I can't have him causing any more damage or else you will be held accountable." Taking a long drag she took a seat in her comfy chair.

"As you wish Sir Hellsing." The older woman gave her niece a nonchalant gesture of the gloved hand for the other to sit and she did so.

Their conversation mainly consisted of them telling each other what they had been up to and how Elizabeth had enjoyed the trip and things like that. And soon Henry had brought them their tea and the young woman thought this would be a nice opportunity to make an apology.

"Excuse me… Henry is it?" The lad nodded.

"I wanted to apologize for having frightened you like that. I was only having some fun. I didn't mean any harm." Liz told him politely.

"I-it's ok-kay… just p-please try n-not to anymore?" He asked with a sort of hopeful smile. Elizabeth couldn't help smirking and giving a nod.

"I'll try. But I can't make any promises." And though Henry wasn't sure if he liked the sound of that or not, he decided to leave it alone and left when Integra dismissed him shortly after.

"Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, I'd like to discuss with you a few ground rules if you are to stay here." Integra said in her usual unquestioning tone.

"Of course. I expect nothing less." Liz smiled; knowing her aunt put out rules for her own safety as well as others. She had always strived to do her best to behave and speak well when in the presence of her aunt. It was how she was raised.

And so, they began to go over some rules. Which ended up being more than what some people would consider SOME to be.

"You are to eat when Henry serves meals or you can go hungry. Unless of course you can cook yourself, in that case go ahead. So long as you don't hinder Henry while he is busy. He is _my_ servant if you recall, not yours." For the umpteenth time Liz nodded that she understood. But she was starting to get bored of this.

"You are not to go outside when the sun has set unless you clear it with me first. I must know where you are when you are not here in the mansion. If you cannot find me, relay it to Henry." Well, that seemed a bit demanding, but Liz guessed it was simply out of worry. Or so she hoped. So she nodded again.

"And finally… and possibly most importantly… I don't care where you go in this mansion so long as you do NOT go to the lower levels without permission. Do you understand Liz?" The young woman nodded, and as her aunt smiled wearily, it seemed rule time was over. Liz was glad. She didn't think she could handle another twenty or so minutes of that.

They spoke a little more and then she was dismissed to her room to rest from her tiring journey. Liz was happy for this and hastened her pace when Henry showed up to escort her to where her room was going to be.

The mansion was massive and very labyrinth-like. She hoped she would be able to find her way around… but then again, it shouldn't be that much of a problem for her if she remembered everything correctly.

The butler was rather nervous and wasn't sure what to say to the young woman besides spouting random apologies for when he took a wrong turn. But Elizabeth didn't mind and she did her best to keep him calm until they finally got to their destination.

Her room had a plain yet elegant looking white door. And as soon as she saw it, she decided that she was going to make herself a little sign to post on it. Perhaps that would help both herself and Henry to find it more easily.

When she bid him a polite goodbye for now and entered her room, she shut the door behind her and looked around. It was a rather large room with furniture as simple and yet as elegant as the door.

It looked as if it had been recently cleaned, and knowing her aunt, it probably was. Feeling the wear of her journey, Liz went over to her bed and let herself fall back onto it with a loud sigh; more to make noise than anything else.

"This place is so quiet… it's kind of like a giant mausoleum…" Liz couldn't help chortling a little at that as she continued talking to herself. It was the only company she'd ever really had after all.

"Then again… I bet Aunt Integra probably does have someone buried around here… or somewhere in the building… wonder if it's haunted…?" She mused with mild interest. And almost as if in answer to her words, a chilly little breeze passed through the room; faintly disturbing the fabric of her clothes and around the room with a little flutter.

Liz sat bolt upright and looked around; her first instinct to be on full alert. But as her silvery eyes surveyed the room, she couldn't see anything there. Though… for some reason, she did feel like she was being watched…

Maybe Integra put cameras in her room? No… that didn't make sense. Her aunt trusted her more than that. So if it wasn't that, then what could that have been?

"Hmm… a draft perhaps…?" She wondered quietly to herself. It took a few minutes before she settled back down, but she was far from relaxed.

After a while, the feeling of being watched dissipated, and she felt her eyes begin to droop… and as soon as she was on the brink of dozing off, did a soft knock sound at her door. It was Henry coming to tell her dinner would be ready shortly.

Liz sighed and got up. She went to freshen up in her bathroom; though she couldn't help trying her hardest to avoid any reflective surfaces. She wasn't sure why, but she had always had the sneaky feeling someone could view her out of reflective surfaces like a mirror…

And when she was brushing her hair she suddenly had that weird feeling of being watched again, so she tossed a towel over it and hurried the heck out of there. As she passed by a small mirror on a table in her room and headed out, did the surface briefly become pitch black.

Slits appeared and then opened up into ominous red eyes that crescented like they were amused… Well, the girl hadn't been completely wrong. In a way… the Hellsing home _was_ haunted. And it was only a matter of time before the ravenous resident made an appearance. And he was quite interested in meeting this mysterious new lass…


	4. Elizabeth's Adventures Under Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elizabeth ventures into the lower underground levels of the Hellsing manor and encounters more than she bargained for...

A few weeks passed rather uneventfully. Liz had unpacked and was getting better at finding her way around the place. It was rather odd though… there were a few times that she had bizarre dreams that seemed more like flashes of images.

Darkness that wanted to swallow her up and piercing red eyes crinkling like they were smiling at her was what haunted the majority of these flashes before she would wake with a start and look around; as if she might see those eyes looking back at her. And every once in a while, she got that unnerving feeling like unseen eyes were upon her; as if she were a program being viewed on a television.

She didn't really get to watch television, but she had seen some educational programs a few times where she had been before, so she understood the concept. It was mostly so that Liz could better understand her lessons, but it had been interesting and a nice change from all the books and diagrams.

Her aunt gave her the first few days off to rest and unpack, but of course, like everyone else in the mansion, she had been given things with which to occupy herself and stay out of trouble.

Mostly it was just books to read or things to study. She had even been given a tutor that showed up twice a week for more specific subjects. It was to help groom her to be knowledgeable like Integra and perhaps have a position in the family business.

But Elizabeth highly doubted she'd be entrusted with anything really important. If anything she'd probably just end up more like a forgotten relic than to prove her usefulness or have a real place here.

When she wasn't busy with the educational activities of the day, she would occasionally be asked by her aunt to have tea with her. But mostly, there was quite a bit of free time and plenty of boredom.

So, Liz did what she usually did best and spent her time reading things she liked or thought might be interesting. She wandered around the mansion, and during the daylight hours when Integra allowed, Liz could go outside and enjoy the garden in the backyard. It had nice places to just bask in the sun and daydream for a while or cloud gaze.

And on this particular cloud gazing day, she couldn't help missing being able to go out at night… how long had it been since she last laid out on the cool, shadow darkened grass and gazed up at the starry heavens?

Unfortunately, thoughts like that made her feel rather sad and depressed because they reminded her of the past… and she didn't like the past very much. So, with that, she got up and went inside.

The sun was starting to set anyways… might as well get some reading done in the library. At least her aunt had some readable reading material outside the schooling junk. It helped pass the time.

Liz wasn't sure how late it was when she heard a crashing sound followed by a shriek, but she still hurried out to find out what was happening. She tore down the halls until she came into one of the large rooms where other halls intersected and the strong scent of alcohol made her nose crinkle in disgust at the foul smell.

She saw Henry staring with fright and sadness at a doorway; there was a crate of glass and wine shattered and seeping out everywhere at his feet. He looked a lot like he had when she scared him that very first day.

"Henry, what happened?" The young brunette asked, and the boy jumped when he heard her voice.

"I-it just c-came out of nowhere! I-I don't kn-know what ha-happened!" He suddenly hiccupped and looked like he was about to cry.

"Calm down. Just tell me what happened. Maybe I can help." Liz offered kindly, and her tone did help to soothe him a little. He looked to her hopefully; his eyes all big like a puppy's.

"R-really?! W-well… okay… I w-was getting S-sir Integra some w-wine from the cellar w-when this h-horrible rodent came out of n-nowhere and landed on m-my h-head!" Liz tried not to laugh as he told his story like it was some grand tale of horror and violence.

"T-then when I w-went to swat it a-away, it fell d-down and t-took my grandfathers p-pocket watch!" At this the lass frowned. Why would a rat want a pocket watch? She supposed it might like it because it was shiny… but didn't they prefer things they could actually eat? It sounded strange…

"Okay… well, why don't I go get it for you?" Henry was taken aback but instantly took her up on the offer as he took ahold of her hands in his. He REALLY hated rats, but he also wanted his watch back. He didn't really have many options.

"Y-you'd do that for m-me?! Oh, I-I'd be ever s-so grateful! P-please, get it b-back! It's a-all I have l-left of m-my grandfather!" Elizabeth gave him a soft half smile. The sentiment making her heart clench and making her want to help even more.

So after his many thanks and getting his permission to go down into the cellar, as it was considered a lower level, did she take the flashlight he offered her and began her descent down the worn stone steps.

The stone corridor was incredibly long, and what with how dark it was despite the dim lights that lined the walls every few feet, it seemed to go on forever. Her eyes scoured every inch she treaded, but there wasn't any sign of the rat or the watch yet, so onward she went.

It all sort of reminded her of the story of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" with the pocket watch the White Rabbit had and how Alice had followed him down a rabbit-hole where it was all dark and yet just light enough she could see…

The further she ventured, the colder and darker things seemed to get. But she didn't really mind. Elizabeth was used to it. In fact, it was more comforting than frightening. It was only the feeling of eyes upon her again that put her on edge. So she began talking to herself again to help pass the time and take her mind off of it.

" Down, down, down... Would the fall NEVER come to an end? I must be getting somewhere near the center of the earth." She quoted from memory; improvising a few bits and squishing together the parts she thought fit her situation.

Despite her senses tingling with paranoia of having eyes on her, she couldn't give up. Henry was counting on her to return with his watch. Remembering the heart clenching look on his face and the tone of loss and sorrow that filled his voice helped to strengthen her resolve. Especially when she heard the soft scarping of metal on rock!

Her pace quickened and as it did, so did her anticipation at getting closer to her goal. Her flashlights rays hit something that glinted up ahead and she broke out into a run! The scraping sound hastened and then it became muffled. Her travels lead her to a very old and very creepy looking door.

It had strange, occult looking markings on it with broken chains and straps. And she couldn't tell if the dark, reddish stains spattered on it were old blood or rust… or even a bit of both. But she had a feeling the watch was just on the other side. It made no sense to give up now when she was so close! Just a little further…

"Do cats eat bats, I wonder? Or do bats eat cats?" Liz muttered breathlessly to herself; taking mild amusement in her own little quoting of one of her favorite stories as she hesitantly reached out and then, after a brief pause as she remembered those sinisterly smiling eyes, did she fix the door with a determined look before pulling it open with a long, steady _creeeeeeeeeeeeeak_.

The instant she opened the door, the aroma of stale air and decay hit her in the face and her breath hitched before she adjusted. She shone the beam of her flashlight around to try and get a better look, but upon taking a step inside, did the lights on the walls flicker on and she froze.

She really hoped it was some sort of motion sensor… but when had her luck ever been that good. The young woman noticed something twinkle as she scoped out the room and as she took a step closer, she could see that it was a quaint little silver pocket watch! It had a rather elegant little engraving and it was attached to a chain that all lay upon a large black looking table with gold trim.

However, upon further inspection, which meant she was paying more attention to what she was looking at, did Liz realize that the table was a very large coffin! Seemed she wasn't too far off about there being someone buried here.

The lass wondered if there was a corpse in there, but figured she shouldn't disturb it. She approached it slowly; like she was worried something might suddenly pop out at her, and she picked up the watch.

She was about to turn and leave when the writing on the coffin caught her eye. Had it been there before…? It was hard to make out in the flickering, hardly useful light, so she leaned down to get a better look at it.

"The Bird of Hermes is my name…" She spoke softly aloud to no one; tracing her finger over the inscription to wipe off the dust as she read each word.

"Eating my wings to make me tam-ah! What the…?" Liz gasped as something sharp cut deep enough in her finger to make it bleed quite a bit.

"How did that… happen…?" The lass blinked; staring at her bleeding finger curiously as the droplets quickly fell onto the black box. She stuck the digit into her mouth and got up to leave. Only to pause again at seeing the crimson that had trickled from her look like it was being absorbed into the coffin!

Her silver-blue eyes widened in shock and she felt the need to get the heck out of that room before anything else weird happened. Before she could even think about walking to the door to make a quick exit, the lid of the coffin burst off and fell to the side with a clatter.

Darkness swirled up and rippled about from the inside of the box as a shadowy figure began to form from it. And then, suddenly, a misty black tendril shot out at the brunette and pinned her to the wall by her throat!

She gasped and fought against it but her hands would only go through it. It was like fighting the air itself! And her feet just dangled helplessly beneath her. The black form began stepping out of the coffin and toward her.

And to the young woman's further shock, a pair of slits appeared over the area where the face should be and it opened slowly into the same menacing red eyes that she had become so familiar with! Then, a vicious looking mouth appeared and bared a Cheshire grin of pointed, deadly looking teeth; and she was sure now that the eyes she had seen before had indeed been smiling…

The form seemed to be solidifying, because the darkness that made it up began resembling some sort of leather material comprised of many straps. And in an instant, the hulking blackness was towering over her; placing a materializing hand against the wall on either side of her head as the pitch face with only those wild eyes leered down at her!

She knew she should've felt fear or panic, and this creature seemed to know it too, for it looked at her curiously when her pulse didn't quicken and her attempts to fight off the nightmarish creature ceased as she tried to think of another way to fend it off since the other way was just wasting precious oxygen and energy.

But then… her mouth opened, and for a moment, the figure regarded her with a twitch of eerie anticipation, as it thought she might scream. But then, her pink, full lips moved as if she were trying to say something.

And when the grip around her neck loosened so she could take in a breath of air as she landed weakly on her feet, did she look right up into the face of a man that came out of the darkness; both of his very red eyes focused on her with a slight tilt of his head while he waited.

"Sorry, but there's no paper label around the neck of this bottle that says 'DRINK ME' or 'EAT ME'." And as the mysterious shadow creatures eyes widened with surprise, he was even further taken aback when he suddenly lurched forward and glanced down to see the cause of his pain.

This young woman had her arm impaling through his heart! He stumbled back and just as he was about to look up at her when she retracted her appendage, he received a blow to the face that actually knocked him back!

"You should stick to mushrooms." Liz quipped before hurrying out of the room and slamming the door shut behind her. As her footsteps quickly faded into the dark, the shadowy figure of the man had finished forming.

And against the wall leaned what looked like a man clad in red, black and white Victorian styled attire, but who was far from human. Alucard had been busy battling all his lives and trying to rebuild himself, when the strange presence of this new inhabitant gained his attention and stirred him from his battles just enough that he knew it was time to finish things up.

He decided to stop playing around and really get down to business. Which is why he finished up in time to create a rat familiar despite his weakened state and lure someone down with the hopes of getting some blood to get the process going. And maybe get a bite to drink while he was at it.

Much to his astonishment, it turned out to be the young lass who had taken the bait and awoke him with some of the most _tantalizing_ blood he'd had in… well, he couldn't really remember. All he knew was that it awakened his ravenous hunger and before he could get ahold of his senses, he had the brunette against the wall.

What she had said before attacking him had been curious and yet amusing. It was one reason why it caught him off guard. Though, it wasn't too often he ended up falling for his own move of getting a hand rammed through the chest. Or getting knocked that hard by someone so… _delicate_ looking…

Well, now that he was awake and had a little energy, he should probably check in with his boss. If the grumpy woman was still alive. But he doubted someone that stubborn could die that easily. Integra had always been the type to give the Grim Reaper himself a run for his money.

Not having the strength to go all the way up by the usual means, he let his shadow powers take him just outside of Integra's bedroom. He always knew where his Master was and he always would.

With his usual graceful stealth that just came naturally, Alucard entered her bedroom and saw how her neck was exposed. A grin came across his tired features as he thought he'd see if she was still the Integra he knew by trying to take a bite.

This was of course greeted by a gun to the face and a few shots that knocked him back. Hmm, a bit of déjà vu it would seem. Ah well, at least his Master wasn't an easy target from her old age. That had at least been entertaining he guessed.

Then, Seras stormed in and asked what was going on. And so went the little reunion of the Hellsing gang. Alucard had been in the middle of catching the blood that dripped down from a wound Integra had made on her finger, when a voice caught his attention and his eyes shifted over to the slender figure that stood in the doorway.

"Aunt Integra, why are you feeding him?" Elizabeth asked tentatively with silvery blue eyes wide with curiosity and concern for her aunt. Alucard quirked a brow at this. Aunt eh? Well, that would explain the rough way they had of greeting him.

"I _had_ been wanting to debrief you about all of this Elizabeth… but I had been trying to wait until our _guest_ here returned before I deemed it necessary. His name is Alucard and he is one of Hellsing's most valued assets." Integra informed; looking rather weary about Liz having found out in a manner that she had not intended.

"I see…" The girl said as she glanced to Alucard to see that he was staring at her with hooded eyes; drinking down the crimson sweetness her aunt offered him as his tongue flicked over his lips every now and then to catch every last molecule of it. For some reason she felt an odd little tingling sensation spread from where her finger had been cut earlier to her hand.

It was very curious… but she decided to just shrug it off as the weirdness of tonight as she unconsciously clenched and unclenched her hand a few times. Alucard noticed with a spark of interest that the young lady's finger was no longer bleeding and that the wound had healed. Then he watched as she turned her gaze back to Integra and he smiled a little because she hadn't looked away in fear or disgust. It was simply to continue the conversation. How oddly polite.

"So, I take it this one here is also a Vampire." It wasn't really a question as Liz regarded the Police Girl; who blushed and began to fidget with a nervous giggle.

"Um… hello.." She muttered politely, and felt a little relieved when the brunette gave her a brief smile of silent greeting before looking back to her aunt.

"Yes. This one is called Seras Victoria. She is Alucard's fledgling." Integra explained as calmly as ever.

"And I take it that you've been keeping her away from me." Liz asked calmly; though Alucard caught the glint of something akin to annoyance. Though of what, he had no idea. He was too tired to really care either.

"Like I said. Couldn't have you learning about things until you were ready." At this, the brunette looked off to the window above Alucard, and he found it strangely fascinating how the moon reflected so beautifully in her eyes. Or how, when her gaze fixed back on him that he ended up getting rather lost in them.

"I'm glad you're okay Sir Integra… If that's all, I shall leave you to retire for the night." Those moonlit orbs flicked away from his hazy red ones and he frowned a little in disappointment at the loss of them. Integra gave the girl a nod and she turned to leave.

"Goodnight Sir Integra, Ms. Victoria… Alucard." When she said his name, he almost thought she was going to look back. But to his further displeasure, she did not. And instead the lass headed off to her room.

Integra bandaged her finger back up and told Alucard to go get something to eat that wasn't her so she could go back to sleep. He gladly left; feeling more famished than ever and heading out the door.

He paused and spared a glance in the direction the young woman had disappeared in before heading to where they kept the medical blood and devouring all the plasma he could get his hands on.

Elizabeth lay on the bed in her room after having gotten ready to sleep, while Alucard pigged out on plasma. Both had enjoyed the little misadventure of the day in their own way, and yet, there was still disappointment between the two.

Alucard wanted to go and bother the girl. He wasn't sure why… but he just had the desire to. She looked like someone who might be fun to pester. However, after all he'd been up to, he needed nourishment and rest before he would be back to his usual eccentric self.

And Elizabeth, well, she wasn't very interested in Alucard like he was in her. She wanted to try and keep her distance. He _had_ tried to eat her earlier, so that was one very good reason to avoid him. But mostly, she was pretty sure Integra didn't want her around him. If she had, why hadn't she even let Liz know of his existence if he was so crucial to the Organization? It seemed like no one would ever trust a _thing_ like her… even despite her having tried so hard to earn it.

Well, if anything… at least these two unknowingly agreed on one thing when it came to thoughts about the other… and the phrase that came to mind was "Curiouser and _curiouser_ …"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LoL Kudos to all who got the "Alice's Adventures in the Under Ground" references XD


	5. Entertainment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alucard finds a new source of entertainment in the boring day to day life at the Hellsing Organization...

The next day crawled by. At least it did until Integra called Liz to her office and told her that she would need to see her later that evening when dusk fell. Then it sped up a little, and Elizabeth wondered what it was that her aunt wanted. Though more than likely it had to do with her finding out about the family Vampires.

And sure enough, when she entered the large, regal office later as the sun sank below the horizon, there by the desk stood the towering vampire decked to the nines in his favorite red attire.

Upon her entering did he turn to look at her; the fading sun reflecting off the red lenses of his welding glasses and eclipsing those smirking red eyes. He couldn't help the little smirk curling his lips upon seeing the girl. She was dressed in colors that opposed his.

A black T-shirt that had the image of a white snowflake on it, with black and blue camouflage colored cargo pants like they wear in the military with a jacket to match; the shades of the colors varied from icy blue to dark and the same with the black.

She also wore black combat boots. Liz looked very comfortable in such attire, but that was because she was used to it. Her wavy hair was tied back in a small ponytail, but despite how underdressed she was in comparison to the rest of them, he thought she pulled the tomboyish look off rather well.

Seras was standing on the opposite side of the desk and when she turned to see what her Master was smiling at and saw Liz, she smiled too; but hers was bright and bubbly. The girls outfit reminded her of how casually Pip liked to dress, even in his mercenary uniform; since he could change the clothes at will being made up of spiritual energy and all. Though the Draculina wondered why Liz chose such a militaristic style…

Henry meanwhile, was standing off to the side behind the desk near Integra. He looked a little more nervous than usual with Alucard around, but that was to be expected. Especially since he didn't really have that much experience being around a vampire in general. Much less one like the No Life King himself.

Elizabeth looked away from Alucard almost as soon as she had turned her attention upon him, before walking briskly up to the desk to stand between the two undead soldiers and giving their superior the custom bow before receiving the nod from Integra to be at ease before the platinum blonde began to speak.

It was mostly to debrief Liz on the whole Millennium ordeal and then to explain to both her and Alucard what business had been going on in his absence. Most of it the lass found interesting, but there were plenty parts of it that both she and Alucard found tedious.

Despite listening to every word her aunt said, the young woman couldn't help playing the little radio in her head. At least that's what she called it when she remembered a song and could practically hear it playing. She was glad to have at least been able to have an MP3 player and the use of a computer on occasion when she wanted to add more music to it.

Elizabeth liked music and she recalled the day her friend Kassy had given the little blue device to her as a birthday present like it was yesterday! It was one of those times that Kassy had ended up back in the place she was before she came to Hellsing, and though it was a little while after her birthday, he had remembered and gave it to her with some songs already on it since he figured they'd be seeing each other sooner or later. She'd cherished the gift ever since.

Alucard noticed a very faint tapping by the time Integra's discussion got REALLY boring, and he glanced down to see one of the brunettes foot ever so lightly tapping in time with some unheard song. He smirked a little; realizing that he wasn't the only one bored out of their mind.

He wondered what it was that she was entertaining herself with, but both their thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Integra clearing her throat. The older woman could tell when both of them were beginning to lose interest.

And if she didn't do something to bring Liz's mind back to the subject matter at hand, then the girl might end up either humming, break out dancing or doing something silly that would undoubtedly amuse the hell out of Alucard. The last thing she needed right now was to have her main weapon rolling on the floor laughing.

Integra heaved a tired sigh and shook her head before continuing. And it was a while longer before they were allowed to leave the freakin' office. Seras had stayed behind to talk a little with Integra while Alucard and Elizabeth left together; though the young woman was sure to politely keep distance between them.

"Ugh! Finally…" The young woman sighed in exasperation when the doors closed, and Alucard regarded her with a raised eyebrow. The girl immediately started humming an upbeat tune as she walked away without so much as a by-your-leave. The vampire quirked his head to the side with a curious smirk and proceeded to follow her silently to see what she was doing.

Liz noticed she was being followed, but decided to just ignore him. She figured maybe it was some weird vampire thing or something. And as she walked, a sort of jig started in her steps as her humming turned to quiet singing to herself.

" _So hot out the box_

_Can we pick up the pace?_

_Turn it up, heat it up_

_I need to be entertained_

_Push the limit, are you with it, baby don't be afraid_

_Imma hurt you real good baby"_

Alucard gave a snort of laughter at her antics, which received him a glare the other quickly shot him before she continued. She was bored and was used to being by herself. If he wanted to tag along he'd have to deal with it. Which he did. Frankly, he thought she was funny.

And if he really felt like admitting it, she didn't have all that bad of a voice either. It was just the words that seemed odd. Not like he ever listened to much besides the old records they had here anyway. And that was mostly when Walter used to play them.

" _Let's go, it's my show, baby, do what I say_

_Don't trip off the glitz that I'm gonna display_

_I told you, Imma hold ya down until you're amazed_

_Give it to ya till you're screamin' my name"_

As she sang she did a little dance; moving her body smoothly to the tune. It reminded Alucard of a fighters movements, which made him remember fighting. And this of course made him miss it. Ah well, perhaps a mission would come by soon. Until then… he could entertain himself with this weird little human.

He flash stepped in front of her and he was very taken aback when instead of stumbling back, falling over or being frightened, the young woman took a few well coordinated steps to the side and around him; like he hadn't even been there. The No Life King blinked before his smirk widened and he did it again.

And again she sidestepped him; going the other way this time and giving a little spin as she did it. Heh, well this was an interesting development! Even Walter in his prime days had a hard time maneuvering like that!

" _Oh!_

_Do you know what you got into_

_Can you handle what I'm 'bout to do?_

_'Cause it's about to get rough for you_

_I'm here for your entertainment"_

Alucard had been about to do it once more, when all of a sudden she swooped down onto her hands as her foot swept across the floor and knocked him off his feet! And as he fell and landed flat on his back, he stared up at the young girl who flashed him a quick, cocky little smile before continuing on her way as she sang oh so tauntingly.

" _Oh!_

_I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet_

_You thought an angel swept you off your feet_

_But I'm about to turn up the heat_

_I'm here for your entertainment"_

That darkly amused chortle of his made the girl glance back, but when she did, she found that he wasn't there! She went to face her previous direction and saw that he was now standing only a few feet in front of her.

She quirked her eyebrow at how he grinned at her. Liz moved forward to walk passed him, but he swayed effortlessly to block her path. And he did it again when she tried the other side. They were only about a foot or so apart now as the brunette eyed him and he just grinned down at her. For a few seconds they just stared at one another.

Liz smirked and made a little "Heh" sound before she took a few steps back and then did a quick flip over him. He'd expected this and used his inhuman speed to beat her; wondering why she wasn't using that strange agility she had earlier. Didn't she want to get by him? Or had it simply been a fluke?

"Was there something you wanted?" Elizabeth asked as she eyed the stubborn vampire. She wasn't sure if he wanted to play or if he was after something.

"Not really…" He said casually. Liz looked thoughtful for a second.

"Hey… you're pretty tough right?" At this his eyebrow rose.

"Depends on why you ask." He teased lightly. It was pretty obvious that he was tough, or else he wouldn't be Hellsing's number one hunter.

"Good. Then you won't mind THIS!" And at the word "THIS" the girl flicked her wrist at him with surprising swiftness as a strange icy blue and black substance shot out from it and wrapped around his arms and waist!

Before he could move, she'd already grabbed ahold of the bizarre looking rope and gave it a sharp jerk that sent the vampire flying through the air over her head. And as soon as that happened, she had both her hands aimed up at him and shot some more of the web-like goo onto him; sticking him to the ceiling!

Alucard stared at her in shock before he tried to break free. But the webbing was much stronger than he'd assumed. Seeing the look on the vampires face was pretty priceless and Liz laughed; it sounded pleasantly playful.

He blinked at her and then watched as she gave him another quick smirk before running off down the hall. They both knew he could get out of it if he actually tried. It had simply caught him off guard; something she seemed to be doing quite a lot of lately. Alucard couldn't help laughing in that sinister manner of his.

He formed one of his shadowy portals on the ceiling behind him (or was it above?) and phased through it and out of the wall adjacent to it. Liz was a fairly quick girl it seemed, for she had taken advantage of the situation and was already out of sight.

"Hahn… _crafty_." Alucard thought aloud as his lips curled upward and his eyes flashed with delight; wondering just what else the other was capable of. Besides being his new form of amusement after such a very, VERY long and jaded existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song used (in case you were wondering) is "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert because it just fits these two surprisingly well. XD And if you don't see it now, hopefully you will in future chapters. X3


	6. Blood and Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liz asks a question and Alucard wants something in return... and Liz just hopes he means chocolate!

Well, it would appear that following this particular Hellsing resident about might prove to be more entertaining than first thought! He wondered how she was able to web him up like that? As far as he had been able to tell, she was indeed human.

From the little taste of her blood that he'd had, he could tell that she was a virgin as well; a very _pure_ and _**darkly**_ _delectable_ bittersweet one too! The vampire could taste a mixture of pain, loss and mischief in her, but as it was only a very brief one, and he hadn't been in the right mind to really decipher it, that was all he knew.

But he was positive that she was human. Though… that still posed the question as to how a human… had very _inhuman_ abilities… He could ask Integra about the girl, but he wasn't sure if the older woman would take his interest in the young lady very well. Integra was obviously protective of her niece.

And it was no secret that the woman probably wanted him to stay as far from the brunette as possible. But until it was put in the form of a real order, he intended to do as he pleased.

The vampire focused his superhuman hearing for a moment and caught the sound of said interest humming again. He grinned as he melted into his own shadow and went off in the direction he knew her to be in.

He found her in the library reading a book. And he smirked at the fact that she was reading it while hanging upside-down from one of the beams near the ceiling. In a moment he was right beside her; standing right side up and looking down at her.

She made no indication of noticing he was there, and that caused him frown a little; which looked more like a small sneer. Elizabeth was quite good at this ignoring game. But he was sure he could fix that.

The red clad hunter hung upside-down beside her and his hat miraculously stayed on; leaning in to pretend like he was looking at what she was reading. Still the lass had yet to move. So he leaned in until his head was peering over her shoulder.

An astonishing and intoxicating scent of snow and rich, dark chocolate filled his nose as he accidentally ended up breathing in her alluring aroma from having gotten too close. It was just a little whiff at first, but then, he took a longer sniff; his nose traveling from her delicate shoulder to the nape of her slender neck.

"Did you just _smell_ me?" Elizabeth asked with a quirked brow; though she sounded bewildered instead of outraged or annoyed, and he took that as a good sign. He smirked at his success. He hadn't even been trying and he got her to notice him at last.

When the immortal didn't answer, she gave a soft little "Hm" and went back to reading while he went back to pretending to. She was reading "Alice in Wonderland" and he smirked. The ravenette recalled being able to make out her voice in his weakened state like the shine of a lighthouse to a ship on a dark and stormy night.

She had been quoting random bits from this book. He had read it once or twice himself over his many years in servitude and could remember that much. They stayed like that for a while; neither had kept track of time, and neither cared to.

Despite them not doing anything, Alucard didn't really mind since he'd done far more trivial and dull things than this. Compared to that, it felt rather nice just hanging out like they were (pun intended).

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been in the presence of someone who didn't seem to fear him. One couldn't really count Integra since that was his Master. And what need was there of fear when he had to obey her? None, that's what. So no, not the same thing at all. And certainly not much fun.

That train of thought however, was interrupted when his eyes grew large as he saw the young lady loosen her hold on the beam and plummet down towards the stone floor below!

It shocked him that he'd felt the urge to reach out and grab her or fall down to catch her. But he saw how her fair face held no fright and watched how she maneuvered effortlessly to land like a cat on her feet. And soon, he was down beside her.

Elizabeth walked over and placed her book back on the shelf where she had gotten it. She wondered why Alucard was trying to bug her, but she guessed he was just being a pest because he was bored. Not like there was much else to do around here anyway.

Having a vampire hell-bent on pestering you wasn't exactly something that screamed awesome in her mind, but so long as he didn't try anything that warranted a beheading, she could probably put up with it. Even if it might get annoying.

Elizabeth headed off to the door and as she was about to walk out, she saw Alucard just standing by the bookshelf where she was standing moments ago. The brunette eyed him curiously. He just looked at her but said nothing.

"I'm leaving now." She said simply, but he just looked at her rather stoically.

"Right then…" Liz paused; wondering if she should say anything or just leave it be. But she felt a rather nagging feeling in her mind, and so she sighed softly and shook her head.

"Follow or stay. It's your choice." The young lady told him before walking out of the room. And with a wicked toothy grin, the vampire headed after her; catching up to her in seconds and walking right behind her with a few feet between them.

He had wanted to see what she would do, and she didn't disappoint. Most people would have told him to go away. Hell, most of them snapped by now and tried to shoot him, or themselves, or ran away screaming and begging Integra to make the "monster" go away. It was all quite comical really… in a rather irksome and ironic sort of way. But still, he had some laughs.

The two simply wandered around the castle-like mansion. The silence was serenely comfortable. It was only broken by the sound of a soft crinkling of paper. He watched as Liz reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. She unwrapped it and then, after looking at it did she turn her attention to Alucard and hold it out to him.

"Want a bite?" The lass offered kindly. As much as she loved her chocolate, she was still good enough to attempt to share.

"Not of _that_." He quipped in a lightly suggestive tone, and she saw the eyes behind the glasses flicker to her throat and then back to the confection.

"Not on the table." She replied coolly and took a bite; smiling a little and licking her lips to catch every delicious little piece. He saw that and his smirk widened.

"That could be arranged." Alucard countered; trying not to laugh at the roll of the others eyes. She started walking again as she nibbled on her candy bar. Well, at least now he understood why she smelled of chocolate. But the rest was rather a mystery.

This went on for a while, until Elizabeth halted abruptly and spun around to face him with a small frown. He was glad for his speed or else he may not have been able to stop about three feet from her. Alucard blinked lazily down at her from behind his wielding glasses.

"Don't you have anything better to do instead of following me around?" She inquired; more curious than exasperated.

"No." It was blunt and the tone matched the sneering scowl he wore. She blinked up at the towering hellhound of Hellsing and suddenly felt a little bad for asking.

"Oh…" The lass muttered as she felt she could rather empathize with his situation. Silver-blue orbs fell to the marble floor as silence came between them again. Then, she looked up at him with a curious look.

"Do you… mind the cold?" It was a very odd question and asked most carefully, and it seemed to hold a deeper meaning to it than the brunette's calm phrasing gave it.

"I'm a vampire. If such a triviality as that bothered me, I'd have killed myself shortly after becoming one." Despite his snarky way of answering, she gave him a warm smile and nodded.

"Just checking." She replied in a tone to match. Then she thought for a moment.

"Does this place have a pool?"

"No." He said bluntly.

"Pity… would've had fun if there was one." Liz mused more to herself than the vampire.

"Are there any lakes or ponds nearby?" Alucard muddled that one before answering.

"If the property hasn't changed in the thirty years I've been gone… then yes." At this she brightened and her eyes twinkled like moonlight on a snowy Winter night.

"I wonder if Aunt Integra would let me check it out…?" She received no answer to this, and she didn't expect one. He wondered why she seemed so keen on getting to a body of water.

"Hmm… but I don't know where to look if she did…" Liz paused and then considered.

"Would you mind telling me where to look?" The vampire smirked at such a pleasant and polite plea as those eyes gazed hopefully up at him; her hands pressed together like one does when they're praying.

"Yep." He gave a bark of laughter at the angry pout she gave him at that.

"But… but why?!" She tried to ask without sounding whiny; though to Alucard it was still comical.

"I don't see why I should…" He replied slyly. And then he was suddenly invading her personal space, as he leaned swiftly down like a lion on a rabbit, so that they were face to face; only inches apart. And his smirk widened to a grin when her eyes become a fraction larger and she gave an almost inaudible gasp, but stood her ground; only leaning back a smidge when he moved in a little closer.

"What would you give me if I did?" The vampire asked with ominous glee. From this distance she could catch the exotic scent of death, blood and earthy spices mixed in with a musk that was uniquely his own and somehow made her think of a pitch black, moonless night in a graveyard filled with fresh corpses and blood soaked dirt. To someone like her, it wasn't unpleasant at all, but she didn't dare get any closer to him for she knew better than to do that.

"Um… what do you want?" Her tentative tone was just loud enough for him to hear. It seemed their close proximity made her a little uncomfortable and not the fact that she was pretty sure she knew what he was getting at, which only served to delight him all the more. His eyes widening for a second at her response as his Cheshire grin showed off his lethally sharp teeth.

"Oh, there's **lots** of things I _want_." He replied in that dark baritone of his as it lowered. Alucard could hear her heartbeat quicken just a touch, but not like it would with other people. If she were anyone else, he should've been able to dance to the rapid beating by now.

How was she so calm? Didn't she know she was at the mercy of a fierce predator? Here he stood, crouching down before this girl; a monster of monsters, who could drag her screaming into the darkness to devour her and keep her soul to toy with for all eternity! And yet, the only thing that caused her discomfort was the breech of her personal space…? What a bemusing creature this Elizabeth was… He didn't know quite what to make of her.

"Is one of them chocolate…?" Liz queried hopefully; already knowing the answer to that.

"No… but it _is_ dark, and **very sweet**." Alucard told her; like someone giving the hint to solving a riddle. Elizabeth could feel his intense gaze rest on her throat once more. And her senses became much more in tune with the blood that flowed through her veins; the feel and sound of it coursing through her body and making her take a cautious step back from the hungry look growing on the vampires features.

He emitted a low growl that had nothing to do with anger at the retreat and matched the steps backward that she took with forward ones of his own; closing in on the lass and wondering how much of a fight she could put up before he could overpower her and sink his teeth into that _tender_ looking flesh.

"On second thought… I can find it on my own." Liz voiced a tad hastily; recognizing the approaching danger and deciding to try and avoid the conflict if she could to avoid getting into trouble.

Then she gave a soft sigh and spun on her heels to continue on down the corridor. He stood there, taken aback for a split second before he gave a scowl as he straightened up; feeling like a kid who didn't get the cookie he _really_ wanted. But where was the fun of the challenge if it came _that_ easily.


	7. Matters of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alucard and Liz have a little fun...

The rest of their walk together; or rather her walking and him following behind like a total creeper, went by without any more conversation. It was getting pretty late by this time and so she headed off in the direction of her room; which by now, had a small sign made of a sturdy blue sheet of paper that had her name written in black on it and taped to the door.

She was getting sleepy and wanted to go to bed and maybe get some time to herself. However, when she entered her room, she paused and looked around to see that the stubborn vampire was still following her.

"I'm going to get some sleep now… so… go read or something…" Liz told him calmly; feeling a little unsure of how to get rid of him without getting into trouble or pissing him off; or both.

"And if I don't?" He asked cockily; quite sure there wasn't anything she could do.

"I'll impale you with a hypodermic needle full of silver nitrate and leave you to burn from the inside out." The brunette told him after giving the question a second of consideration. He placed one hand against the doorway as he leaned down like he had earlier.

"Sounds kinky." He teased with a grin; liking her imagination and the use of the word "impale" in her threat. It provoked a spark of excitement and a few ideas of his own. She merely rolled her eyes.

"Well, if you're so keen on it, you can go stick yourself then." Liz retorted with a smirk of her own. She tried to shut the door on him, but he slid his free hand up to stop it. His towering frame creeping a little further forward.

"I'd much rather **you** did it." Alucard replied breathily as his gloved hand darted forth from the doorframe to grasp her by the wrist. The brunette was about to retaliate since she thought he was going to attack her, but then she stopped when he placed her hand right over his breast. And her eyes widened as she realized what he meant.

"Come on… Run me through. Just like last time. **Right through the heart**!" Alucard told her; his voice starting out eerily calm as a dark sort of excitement made it bolder so that he practically barked the words sharply at her; daring her to try and carry through on her threat.

It sounded like quite the proposition to him, and he wanted to see how she handled the opportunity. Most people typically broke down when he spoke to them like that; folding under the pressure like wet paper. They began begging for their lives, because they believed that nothing good could possibly come from such a sadistic sounding psychopath.

He held her hand firmly and directly over the spot she had run him through the first time they'd met. The small appendage in his much larger one felt warm through his shirt, and with each word he spoke it seemed to grow hotter, and NOW he could hear her pulse beginning to speed up! He was fairly certain it wasn't because of fear. And this interested him.

Her eyes stared at the spot where the gloved hand held hers and then frowned a little. She felt her heart rate increase a few beats and couldn't help feeling the usual internal conflict she had coming to rear its ugly head. She could tell the vampire really wanted her to hurt him. Couldn't she get into trouble for that? But… if he was asking… didn't that make it alright…?

And almost as quickly as her hand had heated, it began to cool; in fact, it felt almost as cold as his by the time she pulled it away. Alucard felt disappointment beginning to fill him.

He knew it… just an empty threat… she didn't have the **guts** to go through with it. The girl was just all talk like everyone else. Ugh! Why did he even bother anymore?! They all put on a good show, but in the end they could never pull the proverbial trigger! He was about to turn away and leave when his body lurched forward and a familiar pain shot through his body…

Red eyes looked down to see that the reason she had pulled her hand from his grasp was so she could follow through. And _through_ she went indeed! The fair maiden was now impaling his chest and he could feel adroit fingers wrapping around his cold, unbeating heart like a vise. And **GOD** it felt **good**!

Alucard's mirth started out low with a little cough as he spluttered some blood, and then grew louder and more maniacal. His head snapped up from where he had been gazing fixatedly at the hand in his chest.

Her grip tightened painfully and he choked some in-between laughs. He was in a mixture of disbelief and masochistic bliss. The vampire stared at her with mad intensity, but she didn't look at him.

Her attention was fixed on feeling the heart she held. It mesmerized her how _still_ it was; it probably hadn't beaten for hundreds of years, and yet it didn't feel like it had decomposed for even a second. It was _sooo_ _cold_ … She liked it! She knew she probably shouldn't… but weren't good things supposed to feel good?

"Crush it…" The ravenette practically purred as he spoke and when she looked up to see his face; being pulled from her conflicting train of though, she wondered if this was such a good idea after all.

Liz knew an arm through the chest wouldn't kill him; much less her just holding the dead organ in his torso, so why did she have this tiny moral mouse of a voice telling her to stop, that only monsters and freaks did things like this.

But then again… he _had_ challenged her, and she knew better than to back down from it. That was something she'd learned from more than one source. Even so… she had to ask.

"Why?" She inquired quietly as silvery blue met blazing red.

"It's not like I'm using it." He snarked teasingly.

"I know… that's not what I meant and you know it." Alucard smirked as she frowned; giving him a slow and harsh squeeze that made him curl forward into the malicious ministration. He gave a long, low growl. The smell of his own blood filling the air around them as he watched it trickling down her arm and staining her jacket; and how she didn't even seem to mind it.

"Just do it…" She may have wanted an answer and he did like how she tried to persuade him, but the No Life King didn't feel like playing twenty questions. He wanted her to act already!

" **Crush** it. **Rip** it **out**. I don't care… Just hurry **THE HELL UP**!" He roared with maddening impatience as he leaned forward so that her hand was pressing further into him, tearing his insides with the gesture; their faces only a few inches apart. He could smell her sweet scent and feel the warm little puffs of breath as she exhaled tickle his face with ghostly caresses.

"You know… you're _really_ bossy." Liz couldn't help smirking a little as she curled her sharp fingernails into the delicate muscle to emphasis the word, and earning another growl.

She found this whole situation to be sweetly sadistic and surreal that she was enjoying it as much as he was. But before the ravenette could say anything, he was being pushed back by the svelte lass, who used an inhuman strength he didn't know she possessed, to knock him against the wall across from her bedroom.

It was hard enough to have moved him but not enough to damage the wall. She didn't want to piss off her aunt by breaking things and then having to explain HOW it got broken; she just needed to rough him up a little by giving him what he pretty much demanded.

The impact had further hurt him and was probably bruising the once useful body part (when he was alive anyway), but it didn't crush it like he wanted. Still, it was nice that she knew how to stretch out the fun. A sharp, icy pain began filling his chest and spreading out to the rest of his body.

It felt like the freezing cold sensation was coming from her hand as the feeling of icicles stabbing through him as they blossomed out and made him cough and splutter; causing blood to bubble up and run down his mouth and chin.

"Wh-what… is this-sss?" He ended up hissing from the difficulty it took to speak.

"You wanted me to impale you. So I am." The girl said with a devilish smirk that could rival one of his own. And though he coughed and found it hurt even more wonderfully, he laughed while he could, as spikes of ice began poking through his torso; the frozen crystals loveliness was made all the more so by the stain of his own blood and the blackness that tainted the inside of the ice in wispy swirls. Like she had somehow managed to contain darkness itself.

They looked beautiful, and as the agony outweighed any numbness the ice caused; he gave a groan and leaned forward. He saw how Elizabeth's silvery tinted brunette hair became white as snow, and how her eyes shone with sadistic mischief and concentration. Any warmth that had once been around them was long gone. Even the window behind him had frosted over.

It was like they were standing out in the coldest part of a Hell frozen over, and he couldn't get enough! His mind was overwhelmed by such a stimulating array of having frozen blades of ice rip and cut through him from where her hand held on tight! It spread from his heart; or what was left of it.

He could tell it was probably mangled and shredded. His body was trying to regenerate and repair the damage she caused, but the more it tried, the more she tore at his insides and prevented it. He couldn't believe how much he was getting off on it when they had only just begun!

Red eyes closed as long arms wound themselves unconsciously around the slender shoulders to pull her close. She gasped and made a small, pained sound. He looked to see that he had drawn her into a torturous embrace; the icy thorns sticking out of him by about an inch or so now dug into her.

The smell of her warm, fresh blood being split made him feel like he was becoming intoxicated. He gave a predatorial growl and tried to pull her even closer to make her bleed more; to feel that brilliant combination of cold and hot mingling together. And for a moment, she wanted to let him…

But alas, the brunette wrenched herself from his suffocating embrace as she ripped out his heart; shattering what had formed in and around it in his chest and leaving a gaping hole where it had been.

She stood back; putting a few feet of distance between them so that they were on opposite sides of the narrow corridor. Her breathing was a little shaky from the strange excitement and the pain from having been stabbed by the icicles that stuck out from all angles from his torso.

Elizabeth had never experienced anything like that before! Sure, she had imagined a few things that Kassy had told her about to try and better understand them, but… it both chilled and thrilled her that she had actually enjoyed it like that.

The young woman thought things had gotten out of hand enough. She shouldn't have been doing that. She'd been stupid to let herself start to lose control like that…! He could have bitten her with her guard down like that; as she got the feeling that he was getting ready to. And she wasn't wrong either, which was mostly why Alucard had been pulling her in. Like a snake coiling around its captive prey; getting ready to strike!

The front of her outfit was stained with blood, but the vampire noticed with morbid fascination that the crimson became absorbed by the clothing as it shifted and repaired the holes; much like Alucard was able to do.

He was still hunched forward with his hands pressed on the wall now for support. It wasn't the easiest to stand while your insides were frozen and threatened to break apart with even the slightest movement.

" _What_ … are you…?" His eyes narrowed with dark interest at the other; who looked like she was conflicted about something. This stranger… this _girl_ , had just given him one enthralling, albeit too short, torture session, and now if she wasn't going to continue then he might as well get some answers. It had been bugging him anyway.

"I'm human… but I have something that lets me do these things. So in a way… I'm also _not_ human…" Liz mused disinterestedly as she played with the frozen heart in her hand; her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Hahn, could've fooled me." He grinned; his pearly white fangs now stained with his own blood. Liz looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"Yeah… I figured. Where I came from before they sent me here.. The Cage… they called it a symbiote. It doesn't really have a mind of its own. I'm not sure why. I knew of some that did and some that didn't. My friend Kassy has one like me though." The lass almost sounded a little sad as she spoke, but then cheered up a little at the mention of the friend. Alucard grimaced at the fact that she had, but wasn't entirely sure why.

"Well… I guess I better head to bed now." She eyed the heart in her hands again; her thumb running over it in a fond manner that made Alucard feel like a jolt of electricity just ran through him. Her hair began fading back to the pale umber it had been before in a way that looked like snow melting to reveal the rich earth beneath it.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Liz asked with some concern. She did understand that he had gotten back from a recent thirty year bout with all his lives (or souls, whatever) so she figured he might still be recovering from that since she didn't really know anything about his specific physiology and only knew it to be different from regular vampires. She hoped her little lapse hadn't done any permanent damage.

Alucard laughed at the question, and with a knowingly smug smirk, he turned himself into water that pooled on the floor before it shifted into a shadow and disappeared along with the heart.

She smiled and whispered a polite goodnight to the air, whether he heard it or not before going into her room; and shutting the door behind her. Getting cleaned up before going to sleep as she replayed what happened and wondered if her aunt would get angry if she knew.

Would she get sent back to the Cage… or someplace worse? Hmm… that'd suck. It'd be a waste of all her hard work… Maybe she should try to avoid the vampire better. Well, she could try anyway.

But for some reason, he seemed to like provoking her to violence. Must be from all the years of being a warrior she figured. It wasn't like she didn't find it understandable, but she had to behave while she was here. If Integra caught her doing… well, things like she had been, she doubted the woman would approve.

Argh! This was getting her nowhere! She hated going in circles of what was good and what was bad every time a situation arose that she had to pick one. And the one she always wanted to pick never seemed to be the right one! At least in the eyes of others… except maybe Kassy… well, definitely Kassy. And probably Alucard from what she'd just learned tonight.

"Heh… What a masochist…" She muttered with a tired little giggle and passed out. A couple of inky, perpetually shifting black and icy blue tendrils creeping out from her clothing like living vines, to pull the covers up over her body and tuck her in before receding back as if they had never been there…

The vampire used his powers to get back to his room, where he had a few blood packets in an ice bucket used for wine, on the table beside his chair. They were ones he had collected earlier in the evening before the meeting so he could have breakfast. It seemed the new butler was too scared to venture down to his room to bring him any. Henry was such a skittish little fellow. He figured his Master kept the lad around for sentimental reasons.

"How human…" He mused as he gulped down a bag of plasma, the sharp pain grew to a dull ache as his body mended from the defrosting. His thoughts drifting back to the enigmatic ice princess who slumbered somewhere far, far above his dark dungeon of a room.

So, Integra's niece had something called a symbiote, eh? He had no idea what that was, but it made Elizabeth far more intriguing; especially after what he'd witnessed tonight! The way she handled herself and him! The **power** she exhibited! And how it looked as if she could heal like Anderson did, while still remaining human.

He wondered… if they fought… could he tear into her like he used to his old regenerating foe? Or were her skills not as advanced…? Alucard muddled over these and other questions as he drank his third bag. He thought it was a shame his Master probably wouldn't give him the chance to find out for himself. Such a waste…


	8. Nightmares and Nostalgia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which tension arises...

The next morning Elizabeth awoke with a start; sitting bolt upright and drenched in cold sweat that ended up freezing to her body in little crystalline droplets. She shivered, not from the cold but from the nightmares that typically came with sleep, and hugged her knees to her chest.

Fine, vine looking tendrils reached out and pulled the blankets up over her. Yeah, okay, so everyone had nightmares, big deal right? Well, if they weren't real, that would be one thing. But hers were mostly the horrible parts of her past that she'd rather push into a dark recess of her mind and forget about rather than relive almost every time she closed her freakin' eyes!

Elizabeth heaved a sigh and ran her fingers through her frost covered hair as it thawed from white back to brown. She sighed as she looked around the now frost covered room that was so cold she could see her own breath; happy to find that at least no red clad vampire was lurking anywhere in her bedroom.

The icy girl smiled before getting up and ready for the day; her symbiotic suit shifting from her sleepwear to the outfit she had on the day before as it pulled her hair back into a short ponytail again.

Since the floor was so slippery from the frost, she slid around and found it to be rather fun and ended up falling over when she giggled and played on it too much, but that just made her giggle more and helped her get over the bad awakening she'd had.

She paused by the still empty dresser (since she had no need for clothes) to look at the little mirror she had facedown. Since that time in the bathroom where she covered the mirror, Liz had made sure to do so to the rest of the mirrors in the room. It was still as she had left it and after using it to check to make sure she looked presentable, she headed out to have breakfast.

Most of the time Integra slept in and missed it or stayed up late enough so that breakfast seemed more like dinner, but mostly avoided dining with her niece if she could. Which is why today, Elizabeth was eating alone again.

The young woman didn't mind it though. Whenever they did dine together, there was usually an uncomfortable and strained sort of tension between them that Integra didn't want to discuss and that Elizabeth was rather too deterred to ask about.

Everything had been okay for the first couple of days and it almost seemed as if she and her aunt had not been apart for all those years, though it was tense like something weighed heavily on her aunt, but Liz had hoped that they were working it out, it apparently was not the case.

During one instance that they had been having tea together in Integra's office, Liz had grown bold enough to ask one of the MANY questions she'd been waiting so _very_ long to ask the older woman, and that had been why it took so long for her aunt to come and get her.

This was when her aunt visibly tensed and her jaw clenched; like she was about to erupt into one of those fits of anger, that on one very rare occasion, she had unfortunately been on the receiving end of when she was around four years old and had glued together all of Integra's fancy cigars to make her aunt a sword since she thought Integra was a real knight like in the stories and wanted to make her a weapon.

When angrily asked what good a cigar sword would do in a battle, a teary eyed Liz replied that she could light it on fire and burn the bad guys. Which only served to make the older woman sigh and grumble something about her niece being as bubble headed as some "Police Girl" or some such nonsense that the poor lass didn't understand.

And even when Integra had managed to calm down soon after, Liz had never once even thought about touching the woman's precious smokes again and did her best to be on her best behavior hence forth…

Though, while this time, she did not incur the elderly blondes wrath, they had stopped having tea from that day onward, and the unease between them only seemed to worsen as she was told to go to her room for the rest of the day; in a harsh manner that rather hurt the lass's feelings.

And it seemed that her aunt did her best to avoid the brunette as much she could after that. Which is mostly why they rarely ate meals together either; the older Hellsing taking her meals in either her office or bedroom for the most part.

But she sometimes had Henry to chatter idly with, much like now, and usually did when her aunt wasn't around. Elizabeth had been sure to give him back his pocket watch when she came back up from the underground levels the other night, and he had been thanking her ever since. Liz told him that it was okay, and that if he really wanted to repay her that he could just keep quiet about the whole thing.

She didn't want either of them to accidentally end up angering her aunt or they'd both get in trouble. Elizabeth still wasn't sure if she was supposed to get the permission from Henry or if he had been supposed to relay it to Integra since it wasn't entirely clear. But she didn't want to find out and simply left it be rather than risk kicking the hornets nest by asking and rousing suspicion.

At lest the food was definitely better than it had been back at the Cage. That place was similar to the Vault or so she had been told. But, it was far more secure (or so they claimed) and was made to hold creatures like the symbiotes and the hosts who possessed them like Liz; whether they did anything bad or not.

It was more of a government research facility than a prison (though which government she wasn't sure since they had all sorts of people working there from what she had learned). But that didn't mean the inhabitants were treated any less carefully. In fact, ones like her friend Kassy were regarded much more dangerous than the others, and they took great precautions when it came to him.

Liz knew perfectly well and why though. She could see both sides to the story, but that didn't deter her from being on friendly terms with the psychopath. Especially since his cell was right across hers, and he was pretty much the ONLY one she had to talk to when he was there; when he hadn't ended up escaping somehow that is.

At the thought of her fellow prison pal, the odd brunette wondered how he was doing… he may not have been the best type of person to make friends with… but it wasn't like she had many options or much choice.

Elizabeth sipped her tea as pensiveness befell her. She could remember it like it was yesterday. And as she recalled certain past events, the lass frowned a little and one of her hands reached up to unconsciously rub a spot on her upper arm near her shoulder through the layers of clothing.


	9. Fiend is like Friend without the R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we delve into Elizabeth's past and find out just who "Kassy" is...

_**~Flashback.~** _

Elizabeth had only been about ten years old at the time, and after the incident that brought her to be in a strange facility called "the Cage", she had been placed in a large, white cell. It was curiously circular; like walking into a tunnel.

Some time had passed and it appeared as if not another living soul was around. There was of course a cell opposite hers. It had a glass front with white bars and like hers, and it had a little bathroom area that gave you privacy for doing what you needed to.

However, it was empty. And it stayed that way for how long, she wasn't sure. It wasn't very easy to keep time when you didn't even know what day it had been when you were imprisoned.

None of the guards or anyone else who worked there spoke to her unless they were giving orders, or the ones teaching her in her studies were explaining things, or that dreadful Dr. Asher…

The brunette REALLY didn't like Dr. Asher very much… there was something _off_ about her that made Liz prefer her solitude in the desolate white cell to the woman's unwelcome and detestable company. But no matter who the people that worked there were, they all seemed to like keeping her in the dark.

Only the occasional guard would come by for a routine sweep to make sure all was well. And they weren't allowed to talk to her. She figured this out after having yelled at each one for quite a while.

But then, one day, there was more than the usual sound of the guard patrolling. It sounded like some sort of violent struggling of something being pulled at and more than one person talking. And one of them sounded _very_ odd; like he was going back between angry and manically happy, and sometimes both all at once!

And when they came into view, she saw that it was about four guards surrounding one man who was being wheeled in on a dolly in one of those weird straightjackets they put on her that was designed to immobilize you if they pressed a button and a funny yet scary looking mask that covered his mouth with metal and straps.

One of the guards was holding that button as he walked in front to unlock all the doors. Another guard pushed the man with disheveled red hair and wild looking green eyes, while the other two aimed sonic based weapons at him to stop him if he tried anything they didn't like.

The redhead fought and jerked at his restraints as he spoke; seeming unable or unwilling to stay still, as he took glee in the anxiety he was causing the soldiers who already didn't like having to be around him.

He spoke animatedly; going on a rant about how "good it was to be home" and laughing like a madman before they tossed him like a sack of potatoes into the cell across from hers.

He landed flat on his face and didn't move. For a minute she worried he might be dead as one guards took the jacket and mask off and then gave the prisoner a sharp kick to the ribs; which set the man off into another wild fit of laughter as he rolled over onto his back while the men left.

The guard who had unlocked the doors was one of the men who usually patrolled the corridor, and he spared Liz a pitying glance before shaking his head and following the others out of there. Leaving the girl and the madman all alone.

Elizabeth had been hiding behind the privacy wall of her bathroom and the redhead had yet to notice her as he cackled away. A hand covered the spot where he'd been kicked, but he made no move to try and soothe it or get off the floor for a while.

The brunette wasn't sure what to do or if she even wanted to be noticed. He seemed rather interesting but also very dangerous and not like someone you wanted to meet while you were both outside the safety of the cells… but _something_ about him made her feel like they shared some kind of _connection_ … it was strange, and it made the symbiotic creature bound to her give a little squirm of uncertainty.

The laughter slowly died down and the man sat up like a puppet with its strings being jerked. He was facing her direction and the girl gave a tiny gasp at the sudden movement and ducked behind the wall.

A little blur and noise caught his attention and he quirked an eyebrow as he leaned forward on his hands and knees. Huh… that was funny. Normally the cell across from his was empty. Had they put someone over there? Well, one way to find out!

"Hey… heeeeeey… hellooooo? I know there's someone in there." He called out in a singsong way. Then he heard a soft rustle of movement like the person was shying away, and he smirked.

"You're behind that stupid little privacy wall. I can hear you ya know." A brief pause and he was positive someone was there now. They hadn't given him enough drugs for him to be trippin' ballz right now and he knew it.

"Come on ooooout. I can't hurt you while you're in there." He said with a mad little giggle. And after a few minutes, just when he thought maybe he was hallucinating, he saw the uncertain face of a bonny little brunette peek out at him.

"Huh…?" He was completely puzzled now. Was that… a kid… in a freakin' prison cell?! He crawled closer to try and see her better; pressing his forehead against the glass. She looked rather scared and unsure.

"Awwwwww, don't be scared little kiddie." He cooed; trying to draw her out for a better look. He'd never really minded kids… unless they got in the way of what he was doing, or he thought they were annoying… or he was on one of his murderous rampages. Okay, so he had a lot of reasons he ended up hurting kids, but that still didn't take away from the fact that he still didn't mind the nice ones. There were _some_ he hadn't slaughtered.

He could play nice when he wanted to. And it seemed to work. The lithe form of a little girl came out from behind the screen and his crazy grin spread across his face. She looked like a little doll! One of those pretty porcelain ones with the big, expressive glass eyes your mother or grandmother would tell you not to touch because you might break it.

She had short brown hair that had a sort of silvery tint to it in the bright florescent lights they had all over the place, and she was wearing a white uniform like the one they always made him wear, but hers was obviously too big for her since it was unusual for them to have kids here, much less as prisoners.

The redhead made an encouraging come hither gesture with his hand and she took another cautious step forward; keeping one hand clutching the wall behind her like it could possibly be used as a shield in case she needed it. He couldn't help how amused that made him.

"Thaaaat's it dollface… it's okay. You're safe in there. Especially with me in _here_." He giggled again and was a little surprised that she managed a little smile. Even if she still seemed uncertain about what she was doing.

"So… does the _pretty_ little doll have a name?" He asked in a honey voice; his hands now pressing up against the glass a little above on either side of his head. She opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated.

"Oh. I see… Can't talk to strangers, huh? Well, seeing as you can't get any _stranger_ than me, I'll go first!" He chuckled again and suddenly stood up.

"The name's Cletus Kasady, M'lady! At your service!" He said with a comical English accent and gave an overdramatic bow. The cute sound of a giggle snapped his head back up to grin at the girl. She thought he was funny. So he decided to leave out the part about him being Carnage for now.

"Like that eh? Glad to finally have a _captive_ audience!" And as he cackled at his own joke, Liz couldn't help joining in with a laugh of her own. The guy wasn't as scary as he had seemed before. Weird yes, but he seemed to be behaving nicely for now.

"I… I'm Elizabeth Hellsing…" The girl replied in kind; giving him a cute curtsey that she had been taught to do whenever in the presence of her aunt Integra when she used to visit her… before she ended up in this place.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kasady." She greeted politely. He waved his hand airily and laughed.

"Call me Kassy!" He told her jovially, and she smiled and nodded.

"Well little _Lizzy_! What're you in for, hmm? Knock over a candy store?" He snickered at his own joke as he watched her figure out what "knocking over a candy store" meant.

"N-no… I don't really know why I'm here…" Liz said sorrowfully. The murderer raised a brow as he rubbed his chin and cocked his head to one side.

"How can ya not know? Didn't they tell you anything?" This seemed to dampen her spirits even more.

"Uh uh…" She replied as she shook her head. And this puzzled the super villain.

"Huh, that's odd. Normally I can't get 'em to shut up about why I'm here." He kneeled back down on his knees so he could be eye level with her again.

"What happened before you got here? Do you know that?" He asked with a surprisingly calm and soft voice. He may seem like a psychopath to most, but he was really more along the lines of a sociopath since he DID know how to talk to people; though it was mostly to manipulate them.

"Yeah… kinda…" She mumbled as she bit her lip and then looked up from the floor to look at him. He gave her a bright smile.

"That's okay! I forget stuff too! Trust me when I say it'll come back to ya soon. Until then, it might help to tell me what you do know." Liz blinked and felt touched. This man, who was obviously in here because he was supposed to be bad, was the first person to actually ask her what had happened since her aunt when she called the woman and to have shown her any real kindness.

"O-okay… it was… cold. _Really cold_!" The lass shivered at the memory and briefly closed her eyes.

"And _dark_ … I remember those best. The cold and the darkness… like I was swallowed up by a snow monster or something…" The little brunette spoke slowly as she tried to recall what she could. Cletus listened patiently; liking how the story was starting.

"And… my parents… I heard my mom scream really bad. It scared me and I remember I tried to help, but not why. There was red _everywhere_ …!" Liz whispered that last bit with a morbid fascination that made her eyes grow large for a moment before she trembled in fear. Kasady smirked as he shuddered too; but for _completely_ different reasons.

"Then I was all alone… It was dark and white out at the same time. My neck hurt something awful… and then there were these loud sounds and more red. Then the cold came and the blackness gobbled me up! A-and then… people came and I don't really know how, but I ended up here." The explanation ended with Liz looking very confused as she bit her bottom lip again.

But overall, her tale of terror had kept the criminal captivated and practically glued to the glass; his forehead and hands pressing against it as his fingers flexed every now and then at certain parts of her story.

"My, mmmyyyyyyy, what an _ordeal_ you've been through little Lizzy!" He cooed comfortingly; though his eyes sparkled with sadistic delight. She just nodded slowly and frowned at the wall before looking at him with curious silver-blue orbs.

"Why are you here Kassy?" It was a tentative question as she didn't want to upset her friend with prying, but he had asked her so it seemed fair.

"Oooooh. Now THAT is a _long_ story! And I'm not sure if an innocent doll could handle it." Cletus said with a mock look of concern. Liz pouted a little.

"I can too!" She countered childishly.

"Hmmm… I don't knoooooow… might give ya _nightmares_!" His eyes darkened giddily and his fingers wriggled upon emphasis of the last word. But it only strengthened her resolve. She was brave! She'd been doing really good since she ended up in here and hardly even cried anymore! She would show him!

"I already have those!" At this he eyed her with a rather insane little smirk.

" _Dooooooooo_ you now?" The creepy tone as he leered at her made the girl give a little "Eeep!" as she took a few steps back; wrapping her arms protectively around herself before giving a hesitant nod. Kasady gave a cackle. The kid was too cute when she was scared!

"Well then! I don't see why not! But just remember kid… you can't _un-hear it_!" The redhead giggled again before he waited for her to give an incline of her bonny little head. Then, he regaled her with his horrific tale of his life as Cletus Kasady: murder extraordinaire and spreader of chaos! The original artist of anarchy!

The way he told it though, was the way he saw it all. Not the way the media or the cops or any of those drooling morons told it. He spoke of what he had done as an artist would of their work. And though there were parts of it that she found frightening, a lot of it that he told her made a strange sort of sense, and she ended up feeling a little bad for him.

Cletus only told her a little of his stories at a time, so that way they'd have something to look forward to and talk about every day. It was like a chaotic bedtime story type of deal.

They eventually got to talking about why she was there again. Mostly because Kasady could sense something different about her that made her similar to him. And at first he couldn't put a finger on it. But then… he remembered what the Cage facility was all about! Or mostly anyway. And that, was symbiotes!

He eagerly asked her if she had one, but the girl had no idea what the heck he was talking about. So he decided to show her instead! She gasped with concern as he bit his finger hard enough to bleed, and the fact that she was actually worried about him made him cackle.

The dark crimson didn't drip like normal blood, because it _wasn't_ normal blood. It was his symbiote! And the red liquid quickly formed into a perpetually shifting mass of red and black that began to cover his body.

And now, he gazed down at the little girl in his true form. The mask of razor sharp, demonic looking teeth and huge, frightening white eyes that was in fact, what he considered to be his _real_ face!

Carnage now stood before the astonished child and she wasn't sure if she should scream or gasp in awe at what she saw! He looked like a creature straight from the most terrifying of nightmares.

The kind that could make the Boogeyman wet his pants. But there was something about it that caused the young lass to walk right up to her glass and press her hands against it as her nose brushed the cool surface; her lips parted as she could only look up at him with morbid interest.

"I showed you _mine_. Now show me _yours_!" The criminal cackled madly at the innocent innuendo as he spoke in that eerie voice that made it sound like more than one person talking at once. Liz was still too young to get grownup jokes like that, but it made her blush a little because of the teasing way he said it and the new voice he said it with. He was quite the playful type and took delight in teasing her.

Now she understood what he meant about the alien goop. And so, it was her turn to show off her symbiote. Liz was still getting used to having it, so it took a bit of concentration before she coaxed it into forming a suit like his did. She had only used it for clothing and didn't know about the sentient goops real potential.

Carnage gasped as he saw the small symbiotic girl. He crouched down on all fours; his mouth hanging open and making him look more menacing as he stared at her. Her suit was in a similar pattern to his. Except instead of red it had an icy blue.

And she had hair! It was more like very fine, hair-like snow white tendrils that the symbiote created, but it was the same length and flowed about her bonny little head wispily. Her mask didn't cover the bottom half of her face like his did though, and so the lower half of her face was exposed around the mouth.

Her lips were icy blue and when she went to smile widely at the look of surprise on his face, that was similar to the one she had moments ago, he grinned to see that her teeth were as deadly looking as his own, except they had a more delicate, pearly white look to them that just suited the girl.

She looked _so_ _cute_! He'd never seen a kid symbiote before! It made him giggle psychotically before going on a full blown maniacal fit of laughter. Liz tilted her head to the side a little; wondering what was so funny. But then, he became a bit infectious and she ended up giggling some too.

The symbiotic slaughterer began thinking of the possibilities that this rare opportunity posed. Here was this _sweet_ and _innocent_ little orphan, who was pretty smart for her age, and she had a freakin' symbiote!

Now, what kind of opportunist would he be if he didn't work with that? He could have a damn apprentice if he wanted! Someone to carry on all of his wonderfully wicked work when he was gone!

And knowing how he lived, he could end up dead at any time really. SO! Since he doubted he was gonna want to have a kid of his own, and this one came without all the extra work, he could claim this little doll for himself!

Yep! He was such a genius sometimes that it gave him chills! When his laughter died, he and Elizabeth had a little back and forth of questions before he began to tell her about the symbiote and how it worked. But he made her promise not to tell anyone else that he was teaching her this.

Or else they'd get in trouble and they'd probably move him and she'd be all alone again! This put the fear he wanted to into the child and she eagerly promised because she didn't want to lose anyone else. And Carnage played and preyed on this fear with skill and glee!

Liz knew she should be VERY wary of this man. She knew that she was supposed to think of him like a _monster_ ; like other people he'd told her about seemed to think, but it was very hard to see the only friendly source of company you had as such. Especially when he showed her more kindness than even her aunt had.

She hadn't even seen the woman! The only contact that had been between them had been that one phone call after the whole incident, and then after that, she had been told that the Cage would be her new home until arrangements could be made.

However… as the years passed, with no end in sight to the scheduled session of forced lessons and training like she was some kind of solider or experiment they didn't want but put up with anyway, she grew less and less hopeful that she would ever step foot into the outside world again…

But that didn't mean she didn't do her hardest to keep the spark of hope alive. If she gave up… then… No! She couldn't and she wouldn't! Liz had to be brave and make it out of here when Integra came for her. Then, they'd figure everything out together and be happy again! With a strong resolve and much desire to be free and find the ones responsible for the horrors that came to pass, the lass was sure her aunt would come get her sooner or later! Right…?

Carnage on the other hand, had made many grand escapes from the Cage. He'd stay a while until he could get out; which spanned anywhere from a few weeks to a few months at a time. And every time he was going to escape, he would offer to take her with him. But sadly, she would decline.

Elizabeth had promised her Aunt Integra that she would stay where she was and do as she was told when the woman told her to be good and behave. Because when the time was right, she would send for her. But for now, it was better for everyone if Liz just stayed in the prison-like facility.

The murderous madman would've just taken her out of that place against her will, but what with the way they treated the kid like their personal pet weapon or experiment, he knew that all hell would probably reign down on him and they'd probably kill him off for good just to get her back.

Couldn't have such a promising lil snowcap falling into the hands of someone like him, now could they? And as for the snowcap comment, that was one of his little teasing terms of endearment for Liz when they discovered her icy abilities.

If he could have risked it, he would've freed her of the stupid prison. But he couldn't have someone fighting him the whole way. He'd probably end up getting pissed off and killing her. And that would just be a waste.

So, he would simply regale her with all he saw and did while he was out of the clink. And it stroked his ego to see that the poor girl hung on his every word. The only knowledge she had of the outside world was just the memories she'd had, and since she had only been ten at the time, that wasn't really much to go on.

Apart from that, she did have her lessons which taught her stuff. But reading wasn't the same as being able to see it or feel it. And sometimes, when he remembered and had the chance, he would steal something and smuggle it in to her when he got caught again; since it seemed to be inevitable. He'd hide it around someplace she went to for lessons or whatever when he busted out again so she could collect it.

"Stupid heroes… they ruin everything!" Was one of the things he often said when he'd get in an angry rant. And it was times like that when she just sat quietly and listened. And when he got really bad, she would have to hide as she didn't like it when the guards came to "calm him down" since it consisted of them beating and drugging him into a near comatose state.

Thanks to Kassy, her stay there wasn't as bad as it had been. He was like the crazy uncle she never knew she wanted to have. And when the day finally came when an elderly English gentleman by the name of Ferguson (but he said she could call him Peter) came to collect her, she felt torn.

She wanted to stay around Kassy, but Liz was raised by her parents (before this whole mess happened) that her word was her bond! And she had made a promise to her aunt to wait to be fetched. It had been very hard on the poor young woman. She was surprised how he laughed when she told him she had to leave.

It was like he wasn't worried about missing her. And at first it had hurt, but when she asked why, the redhead simply told her they were connected now. Whether they liked it or not. And that they would cross paths again one day, when the time came…

The brunette really hated the phrase "when the time was right" or "when the time comes" because it gave her a sense of false hope. But when the madman had told her with that crazy grin of his, she couldn't help smiling and feeling like he actually meant it.

Though, things did end up being rather chaotic when Carnage took advantage of the security being busy with her departure (though why it was such a big deal she never understood) to make a break for it.

The lass couldn't help smiling whenever he had one of his grand escapes. It was a wonder they managed to keep him as long as they did. You'd think they'd have learned by now that you can't contain chaos like that.

And as Peter ended up having to send word to the Hellsing Organization via post because her leaving was delayed a bit, she couldn't help wondering how life was going to be now, and if she'd ever see Kassy again.

Little did she know that since they had symbiotes, that he could always find her when he wanted to. But for now… he'd let her go off and do whatever the heck it was that she wanted. Let her be reunited with that snobby bitch who let her rot here for all those years and see just how little the woman actually cared for her after all…

And when the opportunity arose, he'd swoop in and claim his icy little apprentice and together, they'd drown the world in cold blood and chaos!

_**~End Flashback~** _

Elizabeth sighed somberly at the bittersweet nostalgia. She had flitted in and out of it all day when she wasn't busy with her menial chores. And as the troubled lass sat on a windowsill and stared blankly out at nothing in particular while her thoughts consumed her, she found herself drawn from them when she heard the sound of someone speaking fast and fearfully nearby…


	10. Once More Down the Rabbit-Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liz walks in on something... weird... LoL

Since the voice sounded rather upset, she got up and went to search for the source. The fair lass found a nervously pacing Henry outside the cellar door she'd taken down to the room with Alucard's coffin.

"Oh d-d-dear… o-oh m-my…! What t-to do!? I sh-should… b-but I c-can't!" The mess of a young man muttered anxiously over and over, as he hurried back and forth like he was about to have some sort of breakdown; his thumb was pressed to his lip as he bit harshly on the tip of it.

"Henry…? What's wrong?" Liz asked tentatively, but the fact that he hadn't noticed her made him jump with a comically girly shriek that made him blush with embarrassment anyway.

"O-oh! I-it's just y-you Liz…" He sighed in relief as he placed a hand to his chest and tried to calm himself; feeling like his heart almost jumped clean out of him from the fright. And speaking of fright…

"I-it's nothing. Really!" Henry held up his hands and waved them about to emphasis this; his glasses slipping down his nose a little as he tried to smile, only for it to end up looking rather forced and nervous. Liz folded her arms and quirked an eyebrow.

"Uh huh… So seriously. What's up? You look like Sir Integra just asked you if she looked like she had any new wrinkles." She had heard Integra asking before.

And the young girl smirked a little as the kindly butler made a face of sheer horror before he gulped and hung his head in defeat. He was never very good at lying. He didn't like to.

"Well… y-you see, Sir Integra f-found out that I haven't b-been taking the v-v-v-vaaaampires meals to them." He all but barely managed to squeak out the word vampire. Seemed he was really in the wrong business if the ones that were on their side gave him the creeps.

"And… w-well…" Henry was suddenly staring pleadingly at her with big, watery eyes that threatened to spill a waterfall of tears at any moment.

"AND N-NOW I'M T-TO D-DO I-IT OR S-SIR INTEGRA S-SAID SHE'D FIRE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The poor sod began crying as he whined pitifully, and Liz suddenly felt at a loss as to what to do to make him stop.

"Um… there… there…?" She said uncertainly as she tried to give him a light pat on the shoulder. The poor girl sweatdropped. She had never had to console someone before. From what she'd seen, Kassy had never cried. And it seemed inappropriate to try and give him a hug or something.

He sniffled and hiccupped; gratefully accepting the handkerchief that she tugged out of his breast pocket to dab at his eyes.

"So… how did she even find out?" At this the lad gave a wail of despair that caused the brunette to move back and cringe at the sound. It made her symbiote crawl at the horribly loud and piercing cry, but thankfully Henry didn't notice or he would have probably freaked out.

"S-Seraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas! Sh-she c-came to s-scold m-me and Sir H-Hellsing overh-heard!" He broken down into a new batch of tears and the young woman sighed and sweatdropped as she gave him another little pat; which he seemed to be appreciating as he shook a little less.

"Wow… Sorry to hear. Talk about bad timing." She tried to say as a joke to lighten the mood, but this only served to make bluer Henry's. All he could do was hiccup and whimper.

"Right…" Liz sighed and rubbed the back of her head, as she tried to think of what to do to shut him up that didn't involve any grievous bodily harm. Henry was starting to give her a headache.

"How about this… why don't _I_ take it down there to them instead?" The brunette offered as kindly as she could in her slightly agitated state. She couldn't help finding his whining annoyingly pitiful. Henry suddenly stared at her with his big brown eyes as he gave another hiccup.

"Y-you'd do that… f-for m-me?!" He asked as if it was too good to be true. And when she gave a cautious nod and a half smile, he looked like he wanted to glomp her. Which she was very glad that he didn't, since she thought with all his tears that it might be a very wet hug.

"But only if you stop with the waterworks!" She told him with a wag of her finger; like a grownup would a kid in a mock scolding way. He nodded his head eagerly and she smiled some again. After he managed to calm down enough and blew his nose, Henry told her which rooms to go to and gave her his serving cart, that he was supposed to use, to help her.

"Once more down the rabbit-hole Alice…" Liz muttered to herself in a dryly humorous way; remembering what happened the last time she ventured down there. Henry blinked and looked at her in bewilderedly.

"W-what was that…?" He hadn't heard her. All he could make out was something about a rabbit. Henry hoped nothing bad was about to happen to one. They were such sweet and fluffy creatures. And not at all scary! Okay… well.. Maybe not ALL the time anyway.

"Heh, nothing. I'll leave this here when I'm done. You don't have to wait if you don't wanna." And with that, he expressed a very breathy and relieved "THANK YOU!" and hurried off to carry on with his other butlery duties; seeming to have had his day quite brightened. She gave a snort of laughter before shaking her head and heading down into the lower levels with the cart.

It was as dimly lit and eerie as usual, but it still didn't bother her. The cart she pushed was the only sound besides her footsteps. She thought it was rather peaceful and nice. Especially since there wasn't that feeling like she was being watched.

After reaching the level that he had told her would be her first stop, she halted outside of the door and had been about to knock, when a loud and very girly scream came from within the room!

Elizabeth let go of the cart and twisted the doorknob, which was thankfully unlocked, and hastily pushing it open before… She froze (not in the icy sense) and stared at the scene in front of her.

There in the room, right on the floor, with a blanket tangled around her waist and legs and quite a few buttons on the blouse of her pajama top popped off (and one of those huge boobs of hers hanging out), struggled a _very_ frustrated Seras Victoria!

"PIP! YOU BLOODY PERVERT! GET OFFA ME! GRRRRRAHHH!" Seras screamed as she tried to fight off some guy, who Liz took to be Pip, off of her while he fought with the vampire ever so playfully.

"Awww! You know you love ze fight my darling Draculina!" The spectral Frenchman cooed while he made kissy faces at the angry blonde as he fought against her; trying to grope her wherever he could reach.

"Uhh…" Liz sweatdropped as she eyed them awkwardly; not sure if she should look away, draw their attention that someone was there, or say heck with it and turn around to go deliver Alucard's stuff first instead.

"Oh come oooooooon Mignonette! Just… Let… Me-!" He said through gritted teeth while he tried desperately to combat that inhuman strength of hers to get either of his hands on the supple breast he'd managed to break free. It bounced around temptingly like its twin with all their jostling around, and it was effecting Pip enough to give him a nosebleed.

"I SAID SOD OFF YOU WANKER! NO MEANS NO!" Seras growled back in the same manner before biting at one of his twitchy hands and earning a yelp from the man. The fledgling smirked wickedly as Pip blew on his throbbing hand.

"GAH! Zhat… ZHAT'S NOT FAIIIIR!" Pip wailed childishly and flailed his arms around because he couldn't grope his pretty Police Girl. Seras rolled her eyes and sweatdropped; though she did feel just a TINY bit bad for having bitten him.

"Oh don't be such a baby! Here… let me see." She said sweetly to the Leader of the Wild Geese. He gave a cute little sniffle; milking the moment like he always did as she tried not to giggle; she could never stay mad at him for too long. Seras gave him a kiss where she bit him.

"You know… it 'urts 'ere too…" He told her pitifully as he pointed to his cheek. The voluptuous vampire gave a snort of laughter but gave his cheek a kiss anyways.

"And 'ere…" He gestured to his mouth with a cute, hopeful look and Seras felt her previous anger melt completely, as she leaned in and gave him a little peck. But Pip being Pip, he just had to press his luck. He suddenly grinned mischievously.

"And it reeeeeeally 'urts 'ere _Mon Amour_ …" And with that said ever so sweetly; despite the devilish grin, he gestured to the bulge between his legs. Seras looked to where he was pointing and blinked before… WHACK!

"UGH! PERVERT!" The Police Girl hollered hostilely as she punched him right in the face. He went flying across the room; his lower half suddenly taking on its squiggly ghost tail as he disappeared into her dresser with a loud THUNK! Only to pop his head out a moment later holding his head painfully in his hand with a pair of panties stuck on his hat.

"Um… I'ma go now…" Liz said a little unsurely before turning on her heel, closing the door quietly and going back to pushing her cart along to take her chances with the other Hellsing vampire first. Though… that probably might end up worse than what she'd just walked in on. Elizabeth sighed and walked on; shaking her head.

"Huh…? Did you hear something?" Seras asked curiously as she looked to the door. She could've sworn she'd heard something or someone. Pip rubbed his head to soothe the soreness.

"Only ze throbbing of my 'ead you vicious vixen." He grumbled with a groan. Then, he blinked curiously as he felt something dangling off of his hat. When he grabbed it to look at he forgot his pain and grinned like the goofy lecher he'd always been. The little delicate article he held was so cute and frilly and had a heart on the front!

Seras heard the wicked little giggling he was doing and looked over to see what the bloody hell the mad Frenchman was up to. Her eyes bugged out and she was on her feet and charging at him in a minute.

"What is WRONG with you?! Give me those NOW!" She exclaimed demandingly as she came within an inch before he noticed and yanked them from her reach teasingly and took off.

"Hon, hon, hon! Not a chance in 'ell Mon Mignonette!" Pip laughed, as he was up and floating as fast as he could away from her; holding up the panties like one does the prize object in a game of "Keep Away".

"Not unless you wear zhem for me right now!" Pip cackled and waved the garment proudly around above his head like a flag while his Police Girl gave chase.

"Not on your un-life!" Seras growled with a blush. Annnnd that sort of thing went on while Liz continued on with her little mission.

The fair lass sighed as she could still hear the voices of that odd couple echoing faintly in the distance. It was a wonder they didn't wake up the whole mansion. She couldn't help chortling a little at their antics though.

And here she'd been thinking that the vampire girl was gonna be all normal. But apparently Ms. Victoria suffered from pervy ghosts… or it could just be the one. Personally Liz didn't want to stick around and find out. Liz had left the container of ice and blood outside of Seras' door. So if the vampire wanted it, she could get it when she left.


	11. A Fangface and a Snowflake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liz heads to deliver Alucard's goodies next...

By the time she had reached the room that was supposed to be Alucard's, Liz stopped a few feet outside of it. It was weird that it wasn't the same room his coffin had been in. Perhaps that was just where they had been storing him? Hmm, maybe it was better not to question it… Her aunt probably had her reasons. Might've been safer there.

Liz exhaled softly before she approached the large, metal door with similar occult inscriptions on it, and gave a knock. She waited, and no one answered. Frowning a touch, she knocked again. The same lack of response. What should she do? Come back later, leave it outside of the door, or go in?

Well, after about a minute of debating, she gave a shrug and figured maybe he was just sleeping and couldn't hear her. Which might be better. If he was sleeping and she could sneak in and out without him noticing, the maybe she could do it without him trying to pester her.

So, eeeeever so carefully and quietly, Liz opened the door. Which wasn't all that easy considering how it made a little creaking sound; like it hadn't been oiled in ages. She picked up the container holding a bottle of wine and some blood packets in ice before peering inside.

It was fairly dark, but she could discern a table and a red chair beside it; it was a little difficult to make out. Liz carried the vampiric goodies over to the table. The entire time she kept her eyes on her feet to watch where she was stepping to help prevent making unnecessary noise.

Then, finally, she reached the table! She set it down beside the empty container that now had water in it. Was she supposed to take that one with her? It shouldn't be that much trouble now that she'd gotten this far.

The brunette exhaled quietly in relief that her mission had gone pretty well considering. But when she inhaled, a strangely pleasant and familiar aroma struck her and she turned her head in the direction of the red chair.

Only… it _wasn't_ a red chair… no… it was the one who was IN it who was all in red. The girl tensed as her hands flew up to cover her mouth, and she bit her lip to suppress a gasp.

' _GAH! Freakin' vampire! They need to put a bell on him or something!'_ Elizabeth thought as she tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. The red clad figure of Alucard stirred a little and she wondered if he could hear her heartbeat… wouldn't be surprising… but wait… if he wasn't awake, then…

She tilted her head slightly to the side as she took a very cautious step toward him. He appeared to be asleep. Oh, well that made sense… she had been right then. Liz thought about leaving and spared a glance to the empty metal container of water. But then, she found her silvery blue eyes drifting back to the slumbering vampire.

The brunette had never seen a vampire before until she came to Hellsing… much less a sleeping one. She only knew of them from a few books she read; so that wasn't very much really.

So of course curiosity got the better of her, and the lass took another step closer. And another, and another; inching tentatively ever nearer. Until she had a foot on either side of one of his, and she was leaning forward a little to get a better look at his shadow dusted face.

His head was resting on the knuckles of his gloved hand. He didn't have his hat on or his glasses, and she glanced to see that they were resting further back on the table behind the metal champagne holder.

Geez, she was probably being an idiot for doing what she was doing… but she'd only ever seen him in full garb; well, outside the moment they first met. But even then his face hadn't been so visible as it was now.

His facial features were strong and sharp in angle, and rather pale; but not in a sickly way. More like… handsomely chiseled marble. Not that she'd ever seen a real statue before. Just the marble things like the floors in this place, but still… she imagined it would be nice like his face.

The vampire looked rather peaceful. Rather like a corpse, but she couldn't help finding the eerie beauty of it. Stray locks of black hair fell over his forehead and around the sides of his face which threw the shadow. He had black hair? Huh… she hadn't really noticed before… or that it was this long… How did he hide it all under that hat she wondered.

Having become so lost in her examining and admiring, it gave her quite the start when eyes snapped open to stare piercingly at her with ruby reds! She gasped and went to quickly lean back, but a toothy grin was already on his face and a strong hand around her throat; pulling her forward!

In a moment of panic, she brought her hand toward his elbow with adrenaline fueled force combined with her own super strength and with a loud crack, his arm broke and she leap backward when his grip loosened.

In her haste, she lost her footing and landed on her bottom a few feet away from him. When a loud laugh rang throughout the large room and bounced off the stone walls, Elizabeth looked up to see that instead of being angry or in pain, he looked positively amused!

The brunette wasn't sure if she should be annoyed or glad for his joviality, but she stood up anyway; brushing the dust off of herself. She frowned at him, but his smirk didn't falter.

"Sorry…" She muttered; but he heard her as perfectly as if she'd said it loud and right beside him.

"For what?" He cocked his head to the side; ever the devilish expression. But she didn't really know for what. She's just said it out of sheer politeness. Weren't you supposed to say that when you hurt someone? Well, maybe not if they liked that sort of thing.

"I'm not sure…" Liz admitted as her frown deepened thoughtfully.

"Heh… then you shouldn't say it." He replied; running a hand through his pitch hair. And he gave another laugh when he saw her eyes turn their attention back on him when he did so.

"What?" He asked; curious to see what she'd say. Alucard knew she had been staring at him, hell, he'd heard her come in! But still, it had been rather fun. Letting her think she'd snuck up on him. However, he hadn't expected her to come up to him like that. In fact, he had been expecting her to leave and think she'd gotten in and out successfully. But then, there she was…

Right in front of him! The lass may not have noticed it, but that lithe leg of hers that she'd between his, had brushed his inner thigh when she ever so boldly came so close to him like that. And while he had wanted to see what she was doing, he ended up becoming impatient and opening his eyes.

There she'd stood. Leaning in _so close_ that that _sweet_ , snowy scent and quickened thump, thumping of her heart had engulfed him, as warmth poured off of her; and those starry eyes of hers _bore_ into him. What the hell did she think she was doing behaving like that? Didn't she realize he could kill her?!

In just a split second he could have snapped her throat or pulled her in and taken a bite! And she was just going to stand as such and tempt fate? Why the hell was she even looking at him?

He wasn't sure why, but he found he wanted to make the game a little more exciting by scaring her a little. Maybe that would teach her not to be so comfortable around monsters.

But then, instead of screaming and becoming a helpless, sobbing heap of a maiden, the bonny lass had up and reacted! Broken his arm even and gotten away! A laugh tore from his throat and grew all the louder as he saw her land on her butt.

Now here they were; him sitting there waiting for her response and her looking away uncomfortably with a little pout of a frown. He smirked a little more as he leaned his on his closed hand.

"Nothing…" Liz mumbled as she shook her head, before putting on a face of indifference. She walked back over to the table and went to grab the empty bucket; much to his surprise. He didn't think she'd dare to get close again.

And just as she reached her hands out to grab it, a viselike one shot toward her with lightening fast reflexes and grabbed a hold of the arm nearest him; and the next thing she knew, she was being yanked toward him!

The symbiotic host landed on something soft and cool; her face resting against soft clothing that _definitely_ belonged to the Undead King. Liz tried to push off of him; her hands reaching up to press against his firm chest on either side of her face. However, the pair of arms around her held her firmly in place.

"Lemme go!" Liz grumbled with another attempt to push away.

"No." Alucard told her smirkingly; like a smug, stubborn child. After a brief second or two of struggling in vain, and a few more of silence and stillness, she decided to try and ease her face off of his unbeating chest more gingerly. And she was taken aback but glad that he did not fight to keep her still.

Her eyes moved up with her face until she was peering up into his. Silver-blue widened at the startling sight of such a glowing red up close. She froze and they looked at each other very calmly; their faces only a few inches apart.

"Um… hi." She managed to whisper. It was the first thing that came to her mind. And she couldn't help feeling a little triumphant when he smiled.

"Hello." Replied the smooth baritone in good humor.

"Any particular reason why you're holding me?" The lass couldn't help asking. He cocked his head just a hair to the side as he grinned crookedly.

"Not really. Any reason you're sneaking about my room?" He countered easily; not really feeling like giving his real reason. The vampire liked teasing her and closeness seemed to make her uncomfortable to an extent; especially touching.

So he decided to see what entertainment he could gain from that. Though, he couldn't help feeling that wasn't the only reason he'd pulled her into his clutches. At the question, she blinked and then looked unsure for a moment before her eyes went to the table beside him and his followed.

"I brought you that." Was the simple reply he received. The "that" in question being his wine and blood. He raised a brow at this and returned his gaze to her as hers did to his.

"Funny… you don't look like that bumbling butler." He sounded like he wanted to laugh, but she merely frowned.

"He's not… okay well maybe just a _little_. But he means well!" The young lady pleaded the absent butlers case. The vampire merely raised his brow again.

"Then why didn't _he_ do it?" At this, she looked a little unsure again; her brow furrowing and her pink lips pouting enough to make the expression cute.

"I… volunteered…" The lass spoke hesitantly, but the vampire just looked at her bewilderedly.

"What?" It was her turn to ask; wondering why he was looking at her like she'd just grown another head. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"He couldn't do it because the whole underground spooks him." She said defensively. But he merely gave her a look that clearly asked what didn't scare the poor boy and she frowned a little.

"Okay, fine. He was crying and I couldn't take it. So I offered up my help to shut him up. You happy now Fangface?" The brave young woman retorted with an irked pout, as she pushed a little further off of his broad chest, so that she was finally able to sit up and not be so close to him. It was still uncomfortable to be around other people; much less close like _this_.

At this response, the vampire looked at her for a moment and then laughed; though not as loud since she was so close. He could be polite if he wanted. She shook her head and tried to push off of him entirely. It was rather embarrassing to be on his lap in the manner that he had her.

But those arms of his wouldn't let her go any further, and as she gave a little struggle and he still did not yield, she stopped and glowered at him. Her impatience starting to get the better of her.

"Would you just let me go already?" She asked in annoyance. But he thought she was more fun when he could get under her skin like this.

"Why?" It was way too calm and good natured for her liking.

"Because! It's… it's weird!" She squirmed again; starting to feel a little edgy.

"How so?" Okay, she was starting to hate his questions now.

"It just is okay…? So _please_ , just let me go?" The lass asked more politely. And he was a little tempted to, he had to admit, but only because of how nicely she asked. Unfortunately for her, the love of the game would not permit him to let go of his fussy little prize so easily.

"Hmm… what will you give me if I do?" The vampire asked with a look of curious interest. Geez, what was it with this guy and wanting stuff in return for it? He had medical blood and wine for cryin' out loud! What could he possibly want from her?

Oh… _what_ indeed!

"I think you should let me go and be more grateful for what I _don't_ give you." The brunette threatened with another glower.

This only encouraged his wicked behavior; and much to her discomfort, he leaned in a little as he drew them together so that their abdomens lightly touched and each could feel the others body heat, or lack thereof. The ghostly exchange of warmth and cool was found pleasing by each, but Liz wasn't really sure what to think about it.

" _Oooh_ , I wouldn't be too sure about _that,_ **Snowflake**." He teased with a smirk; his voice deepening a few octaves. And he quirked a brow when she smirked too. Though, when he realized why, it was too late, as the icy chill was already spreading to his shoulders and chest!

"Be careful how you tease vampire… Don't you know, frost _bites_ too." The lass quipped, before giving him one last push off of his chest, and succeeding in shattering his now frozen arms. This time she landed with a back flip on her feet.

He laughed and turned to mist to repair himself. But as it was so dark, she couldn't discern where he vanished too.

"Ah damn…" She hissed before heading for the door. Screw the freakin' empty container. Henry could get it later or something.

The door slammed shut before she could reach it, and as that soft, haunting chortling echoed in the surrounding darkness, Liz did as best she could and stood in a defensive stance, and waited for him to strike.

And waited… annnnnnnnnnd waited… but nothing happened. It wasn't like she could use her suits camouflaging skills to hide, because he could smell or hear her out, so that'd just be a waste.

"So what… Is this the thanks I get for bringing you your snacks? Hmm? No "thank you" or just letting me walk outta here like you do for Henry… if he ever came down here I mean… But still!" Elizabeth called out huffily to the darkness; her words rebounding from all directions.

Oooookay… that was a little creepy… especially now that she _knew_ someone was watching her. She gave a grumble as the wait went on and she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"You know… my aunt's gonna wonder where I am… eventually…" Liz muttered that last part to herself.

"Oh really? She'll just **know** to look down here first? Because you're allowed to be down here _, right_?" The echoing voice taunted from the shadows; her eyes flitting around in the hope of catching something.

"Touché Fangface… well played. But she'll come for me down here sooner or later. And if I'm dead, I'm sure she'd somehow do something to make you regret it." Liz retorted matter of factly. Another laugh; bitter this time, like the voice that followed.

"You _really_ think so?" Mocked the voice.

"Well… yeah… She's my aunt." Liz tried to reason in a smaller voice, but even she knew her own confidence was lacking in such regard.

"You shouldn't use **empty** threats… they don't suit you." The response sounded a touch snide, and she clenched her fists.

"Okay, you know what. I'm sick of this." The lass stated; her annoyance growing angry as she stormed to the door and placed her hand on the handle.

"And just **where** do you think you're going?" The vampire taunted with amusement; and she could hear the smirk in his voice. She didn't even bother turning around to respond.

"Up and out… or out and up… whichever comes first." Now this she said with confidence, before squeezing tight on the handle enough to crush it. Liz gave the old metal a quick pull and sent the door flying off its hinges and towards the darkness behind her. Silence fell as the vampire wasn't quite sure what to do, as he looked from the door at his feet to the young woman at the entrance. He hadn't quite expected that.

"You know, I was _trying_ to be nice…" As she spoke, he could see her hair gleaming like the pale moonlight as her hair became white and the crisp, crackling of ice began to cover up the edges of the entranceway; closing it up as she stepped out of the room and continued to speak without looking back.

"… but if you're gonna play dirty, then so can _I_." And with that, the sound of glass shattering alerted his attention to the broken and frozen remains of his wine.

"Have an _ice_ day." She paused a moment after the shattering and smirked, before she strode from his room and the ice sealed it up. She continued down the hall that offered some source of light; heading up and out of the dank dungeons at a swift pace.

" **FINALLY!** " Alucard exclaimed breathily as he stepped out of the darkness; trademark grin of excitement and mirth threatening to tear from his lips.

" **Someone** who knows how to have a little **FUN!** " And with that he began to laugh and decided to eat his breakfast while he thought over how bizarre yet the frosty female was. She had interesting powers, and _yet_ , she chose not to use them at first when he had her trapped.

Even though she could so easily have escaped if she wanted. Which she did… instead the woman had attempted to reason with him. Like she didn't really want to hurt him. For all he knew, she may not have.

Though such was strange, considering every Hellsing he'd ever known could hardly stand him (even Integra barely put up with him and he hadn't pestered her like he was doing to this one), and had never been so polite in their feeble tries to harm or get rid of him. The only one to ever best him had been the one who bound him in eternal servitude… And even that was mostly luck.

As he drank, he eyed the broken bottle only to burst out laughing; nearly spitting some blood in the process. There, in the center of the container of ice and shards of glass, the red wine had been frozen in the shape of a hand… flipping him the bird!

Now he realized why she seemed to find it so comical when departing. It was rather impressive, he had to admit, considering she did it all _without_ looking. He reached out to it and gave it a little poke; finding amusement at the little "gift". Planning out what he should do next to provoke her and what she might do when he did.


	12. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elizabeth bumps into a certain Police Girl...

Elizabeth hastened her pace as soon as she had left that room, and it only increased as she thought about what he had said about her aunt. Anger and sadness stabbed at her as she glared ahead; not even seeing where she was going at this point but feeling a little spark of victory from the little "sculpture" she had left him.

' _Try sucking_ _ **that**_ _down Fangface!'_ The lass thought with grim satisfaction.

The young woman was a little angry at that vampire and at herself for letting him get to her like that. And she was sad because… maybe he was right. Maybe her aunt really didn't care about her anymore. But if she didn't, why was she even here? Was it to keep a promise or to obey orders from superiors? Was she family or just another piece on the Chess board?

Even Liz knew there were people above and more powerful than Integra. It was sad but true. There was always a bigger fish. That's something Kassy had told her. The brunette supposed that perhaps the novelty of a family reunited was either pretend to maintain her cooperation or had simply faded.

Either way, she was beginning to question whether or not her aunt cared about her again. It wasn't the first time she wondered. The poor lass had wondered almost every day for years. And only when that kindly gent came to fetch her had her hope begun to be restored.

But then Integra began avoiding her like a plague. Such happenings that brought the little doubt monster back to gnaw at her once more. And all because she had asked a question. What, was she not ALLOWED to ask them anymore?

Was that the price she had to further pay for being bound to an alien symbiote that she never wanted to be apart of in the first place? Well, seeing as it was the ONLY real thing that had never tried to leave her, she preferred the creatures company if that was how they were going to treat her… Years of being bonded sorta founded ones fondness that way.

The angry thoughts continued to consume her and by now she was practically running. And as she came upon a particular part of the underground, her pensiveness came to an abrupt end when she collided with a very soft and bouncy surface!

A surprised squeal came from someone who was very much not herself, followed by the sound of two people falling over. Liz blinked; a little dazed at first, but then looked to an equally taken aback Seras staring at her.

"Oh… um… Hello!" The Police Girl greeted the other lass with uncertainty.

' _Why is she down here?! Is she supposed to be down here?! Am I even allowed to be here with her?!'_ Seras wondered in her comical panic.

"' _Ow ze 'ell should I know?!"_ Pip asked in irritation. He was still rather grumpy from not having gotten to do naughty things to his darling Draculina and was currently pouting with arms crossed in her head.

"Hi…" Liz replied in kind. She hurried to her feet and then held out her hand to Seras; who took it after a seconds hesitation and smiled appreciatively as she was helped to her feet.

"I'm really sorry. I should've been paying more attention." The brunette said sincerely to the blonde. Liz felt bad since this vampire seemed nice like Henry… without all the crying.

"It's fine. See? I'm okay!" Seras gave a nervous little laugh and Liz couldn't help smiling some despite her previously somber mood.

"Huh…?" Liz blinked as she really looked at the vampire woman. Seras blushed and wondered why the other was looking at her like that.

"W-what?" She sweatdropped while Pip peeked out of one of Seras' eyes to see what was going on.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I just noticed your uniform. It's very nice… I like the color." Liz commented thoughtfully as she eyed the lovely shades of red. Two people came to mind; though the thought of the second one made her frown lightly.

"Thanks! It just sort of _turned_ out that way." The Police Woman laughed at her own joke and Liz merely smiled a little; not sure why it was funny, but the mood was a welcomed change.

"I'm Elizabeth Hellsing by the way, but just call me Liz. I don't think I was able to properly introduce myself before." The lass held out her hand and Seras shook it happily; feeling the earlier panic fall to a lighter atmosphere.

"It's nice to meet you Liz. I'm Seras Victoria. But I prefer Seras to Police Girl no matter what you may hear." At this Liz simply nodded.

"Okay Seras. You know… you're not like your Sire. You're nice." She observed, and Seras merely waved her hand in an "Aw shucks" manner and blushed a little.

"Oh you mean Master Alucard? Well, I suppose. But he is very nice once you get to know him! Really!" The fledgling defended politely.

"I'll… take your word for it." Liz frowned a little; recalling her earlier discussion with the other vampire in red and not feeling too sure about that.

"Um… pardon if its none of my business, but why are you down here? Did you get lost?" Seras asked tentatively; looking concerned at the thought of such an innocent seeming lass getting lost in a dark and creepy place like this. Even Seras still wasn't all that used to it.

"No. I was doing a favor for Henry. He was, uh, unable to deliver your meal down here." Liz told her with a sweatdrop. Seras blinked and then smiled brightly.

"OH! So that was you then! Thank you, but why didn't you knock? We could've had some girl talk. I haven't had that since I was human!" The blonde chirped brightly with a nostalgic look; remembering the few women she had managed to make friends with during her training to become a police officer back then.

"Girl… talk?" Liz eyed her; completely at a loss.

"Yes… don't you know what that is?" The English female asked; looking a little confused. Her eyes widened when the other shook her head no.

"How come?" The question was blurted out before she'd even thought to ask, and she rather regretted the sad little look that flashed across Liz's face before it was quickly covered by one of indifference.

"Never actually talked to one…" The lass mumbled as she looked off to the wall.

"What about your aunt?" She tried, but Liz shook her head again.

"I see… Do you want to try it with me then?" There was a pause at the offer, but then Liz looked to her and gave a nod.

"I can try. I don't think I'll be much good." Seras gave the doubtful looking lass a smile and opened up the door of her room. They both went in, and when offered a seat at the little table in the corner, she sat down and Seras looked kindly to the girl and couldn't help chortling at how stiffly she sat with her hands folded on her lap.

"Relax. I'm not Sir Integra and I'm not going to bite you." She reassured, and Liz frowned a little but said nothing. The lass felt like she was being watched again, but figured that maybe it was just the pervy ghost and tried to ignore it. She didn't want to be rude and have Seras think the discomfort was because of her.

"So what brings you to Hellsing?" Seras offered; trying to start off the conversation since Liz either was unwilling or unable. Though the latter was more than likely the reason. The brunette looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Some kind of armored car I think… But it looked like a normal one." She explained. Seras blinked but then gave a little laugh.

"No, no. I meant what was your reason for coming here!" The Draculina had actually believed the girl was making a joke.

"I don't know…" Liz said; looking a little confused as to why she was being laughed at.

"Oh…" Seras realized her mistake and cleared her throat before continuing.

" _Smooth move Mignonette."_ Pip teased and she mentally smacked him upside the back of his smarmy head.

"Really?" The girl nodded.

"I thought it was just my aunt keeping a promise. But now I think it was just her following orders. I don't know why I'm really here though." Was Liz's earnest answer. She had thought her aunt wanted her, but even if that were even a little true, someone else was pulling the strings here.

"Maybe I'm supposed to be like you?" She added as an afterthought.

"Like me?" The vampire looked confused.

"You know. A weapon. A trump card of sorts. A servant to do the dirty work of those who command it." Liz replied thoughtfully; remembering how she had been trained like a soldier and having always wondered for what purpose.

"But that's just silly! You're just a human!" Seras laughed good naturedly. An odd little smirk from Liz silenced her though. It looked almost sad.

"I don't know about _just_ a human… I mean, I guess I kinda am, and desire to be, but the thing is; I'm permanently bonded to a symbiotic alien sentient being so... I'm not sure _what_ I am anymore…" Liz's voice was impressively steady; as if she had come to terms with such a predicament whether she liked it or not.

"A… what?" Seras suddenly felt as if she'd broached a deep subject, but couldn't help wondering what she was talking about.

"It's a creature from another world." Liz said knowledgably, as she held her hand up in front of her own face and gazed at it while tendrils snaked out from under her sleeve and swayed about slowly; caressing her hand in a loving manner. The Draculina watched in astonishment. Even Pip was at a loss for words as he listened.

"Does… does it hurt?" The vampire found herself asking with concern.

"No… not any more. I'm very fond of my symbiote now." Liz smiled softly at the tendrils before letting them retract back into herself.

"It hurt before?" Liz nodded.

"Yeah. When I first got it. Long story…" Seras smiled warmly.

"I have plenty of time right now. You can tell me if you'd like." It was a very sweet offer, but it took a bit of consideration. She didn't really like talking about it because it was like reliving every second. But the other had shown her hospitality and seemed genuinely interested.

"Okay. Well… It all started back when I was ten." She said with a deep breath.

"We had just had a wonderfully big snowstorm earlier that day and I was very eager to go out and play in it… but dad was too busy to take me and I didn't want to go without him." The lass smiled fondly; she and her dad had always had the most fun. Her mom was nice, but it just wasn't the same without the whole family.

"But he promised we'd go out in it as soon as he could… and we did sorta get to I suppose…" Seras listened quietly as she watched Liz frown down at the table.

"I woke up to a noise that night. It was my mom… she was screaming. I'll never forget the sound." Fingernails dug into the palms of her hands; whispering the last part more to herself.

"She was being attacked. I couldn't really see them because it was pretty dark. But I remember they were darkly dressed and they spoke funny. They were trying to ask her where something was, but she kept telling them she didn't know… and I don't think she actually did. But they killed her anyway." A spark of hatred shone brightly in eyes glazed over with memory.

"I guess they didn't like _uselessness_." Seras wondered why the other said that so acidly, but she could understand the anger one felt at loosing their parents. And on some level, Liz could sense that the woman did, but not why. It made it a little easier to talk about.

"My dad came up behind me and covered my mouth so I couldn't scream. He took me out of the house and we ran. It was cold and dark out. There wasn't even moonlight to guide our way because of the clouds. I don't know how, but they figured out we were making a break for it and they came after us." Liz could begin to feel the fear she'd felt that night stinging at the back of her mind like an old wound.

"We ducked behind a tree and my dad told me to hold still. He shot me in the neck with something that hurt really bad. I didn't know it then, but that was the symbiote I have now. Then we hurried on into the woods. See, we lived out in the country because my dad always said he liked how peaceful it was and how no one ever came to bother us… funny how well that worked out, huh?" She flashed a bitter little smile to the blonde who tried to offer a comforting one in return.

"They chased and shot at us. My dad had taken to carrying me at this point so we'd go faster But some of their bullets hit him, and he fell on me. The last thing he said to me was to run. So when I crawled out from under him, that's just what I did…" A dark look feel over her face as she spoke.

"I didn't even know which way we had taken… I don't think dad did either… but when I reached the lake, I knew I was probably gonna die. It hadn't frozen over enough to walk on, and if I tried to go around they'd have caught me for sure." Seras saw how the young woman acknowledged her own demise like she once had long ago, and admired it. As did the red eyes watching unseen from the shadows.

"What did you do?" The vampire asked in a hushed tone. Liz gave a grim little smile has she answered her.

"The only thing I could… I tried my luck with the ice. I was glad I was so small… made it almost halfway across before the bullets started flying again. I doubt they could even make out what the heck they were shooting at… The ice began cracking with each one that hit, and soon enough I found myself falling through it when a few strays caught me and I fell." She paused when Seras gasped quietly at having heard that a little girl had just been shot; remembering how it felt when it happened to her.

"You know… it sounds weird. But, the cold water numbed everything. Felt a lot better being under the water than it had above it… 'Till I started drowning anyways. That burned and numbed at the same kind. Hard to describe… but I wouldn't recommend it." Liz said to help lighten the dark tale some. Seras felt too bad for the girl to really be able to do much but smile meekly. But it was enough.

"How did you survive?!" The blonde asked with breathy astonishment.

"That's kinda where it got fuzzy… as things do when you're drowning, freezing to death and bleeding out slowly all at once." Liz rubbed the back of her head and bit her bottom lip; it was still sort of hard to recall it clearly.

"I didn't want to die… I doubt many really do, but I was pretty determined, y'know? So, I fought as best I could; swimming and trying to find a way out from under the ice. It was pitch black and couldn't find any of the spots that had broken. No idea how I even got away from them… but I did." Her frown deepened in concentration.

"I think I may have passed out after that… no idea… it _felt_ like I kept fighting though. And the next time I opened my eyes, I was gasping in the sharp, cold air as I was being pulled upon the shore." As she mentioned this, the vampire saw how the lass' suit gave a squirm.

"So someone saved you?" Seras asked; hopeful the girls father might have come back for her.

"In a manner of speaking… yeah… it was my symbiote. When I looked back, I saw the inky tentacles that were coming from my open wounds, dragging me out of the water and onto the bank. Really freaked me out at first, but I was too scared the people who tried to murder me were still out to scream." Her hand stroked absentmindedly over the sleeve of her shirt and it gave a sort of happy little wriggle that Seras couldn't help finding just a tiny bit disturbing and sweet at the same time.

She could hear Pip say something about how creeped he'd be would be if it happened to him. And she couldn't help agreeing.

"Anyways… I took a few minutes to collect myself and managed to get to a neighbors house and called my aunt Integra. And yeah… that's how I got the symbiote." Liz finished; not really keen on getting into what came after all of that. It's not like it was much better…

"Wow… I'm sorry that happened to you." Liz gave an aloof shrug.

"It's not your fault. Everyone has gone through stuff at some point in their lives. Some more than others. I don't really care to feel sorry for myself. Waste of time, y'know? And besides… whatever doesn't kill you makes you stranger." Seras nodded at the others startlingly positive logic, though the last turn of phrasing, though accurate for them both, was rather questionable. Liz gave her a half smile. It felt nice to talk about this with someone who could relate.

"I can tell you've suffered horrors too. You know… besides that pervy ghost I saw pestering you earlier." The lass added with a smirk. Seras' face became quite red and Pip burst out laughing in her head; having never found being called a perv insulting.

"H-how did you…" The Police Woman asked bashfully.

"When I came to bring you that blood earlier. Heard the scream and rushed in to help. Saw you two playing and decided it best to leave and put the blood outside of your door. Sorry for the intrusion. I figured you were in trouble." The brunette rubbed the back of her head sheepishly with a pink tinge to her face.

"O-oh… well, thank you… I think." Seras chuckled embarrassedly. Pip was doubled over in tears now he was laughing so hard. The Draculina's eye twitched in irritation before she gave him another mental smack, and that helped to shut him up a little.

"Are you okay Seras?" Liz blinked and wondered why the other suddenly looked so irked. Seras remembered she wasn't alone and gave another awkward smile.

"Y-yes. Sorry. Got a little caught up with something in my head. That's all." Liz gave a small smile.

"I understand. I get like that sometimes too." Suddenly a thought struck her.

"Oh hey! You said something about being called "Police Girl", so does that mean you were one before you ended up here?" The young woman's face looked alight with curiosity.

"Mhmm! I used to be a police officer before I was a soldier of Hellsing. Why do you ask?" Liz shifted a little in her chair; looking a mixture of anxiousness and shyness.

"I was wondering… if you wanted to spar with me sometime? I bet you could show me some really cool crime fighting moves!" Her eyes and smile shone with such hope that Seras couldn't help giving in.

"Sure. I don't see why not… but you should probably ask Sir Integra first. I wouldn't want her to become upset." Liz nodded in agreement, and then the two young women felt that the atmosphere had become rather comfortable, and they ended up conversing for a little while longer.

Seras found it to be a surprisingly nice reprieve to have another female close to her mental age to talk to. Seeing as she herself had only been about nineteen when she was turned, and Elizabeth to be around twenty-four or so.

Liz liked it as well; having never gotten to have a real conversation with someone around her age, much less a woman. And the buxom blonde was kind enough to explain anything she didn't understand.

But somewhere during an explanation about where the medical blood came from, the brunette suddenly jumped to her feet looking alarmed and making Seras frown with worry.

"Ah damn! I forgot it!" Liz exclaimed in dismay and agitation with a smack to her own forehead.

"What's wrong? What did you forget?" Seras asked as she stood too; frowning a little when the other hit herself.

"Henry's cart! I was supposed to bring it back and I left it at…" The young woman gave a sigh of exasperation and smacked her forehead again.

"Ugh! Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!" She muttered angrily at herself and hit her forehead every time she said the word "stupid". Seras watched with shock at the behavior. It reminded the blonde of how Sir Integra bit her lip until it bled; and it made her wonder if perhaps self-punishment for failure or making a mistake was a family trait.

"Should've kept my head…" The lass whispered; still talking to herself and seeming to forget she wasn't alone in the room.

' _Or maybe cut his off…'_ Came the afterthought. But she quickly shook her head to snap herself out of that kind of thinking. If she started on that she might end up forgetting again.

"I'm really sorry Seras. But I have to go and get it. Maybe I'll see you later?" Liz tried to give her a smile but it was clearly troubled by her own mistake. The vampire smiled brightly and gave a nod.

"Of course. And don't worry. Just go do what you need to. I'm sure Henry will understand." Liz nodded and felt kind of better at that, before they bid a quick goodbye and the brunette all but ran out the door.

"Fucking whack job zat one…" Pip commented dryly as he materialized behind his beloved; draping his arms over her shoulders and leaning on her. Seras scowled at his remark.

"She is not!" The woman defended. Pip gave a derisive snort of laughter.

"You're simply too kind to zee it Mon Amour. But zat _girl_ … she iz a _world_ beyond troubled…" The mercenary elaborated in a knowing tone. When the Draculina tilted her head back to look up at his handsome face, her eyes widened to see that he looked rather pensive.

"Pip… you think she'll be okay here? She did seem to be enjoying our conversation, and she is very nice." The blonde asked hopefully. Pip considered for a moment before he looked down to give her a small smile; though he looked and sounded a touch doubtful at his own words.

"Per'aps… only time will tell." He assured her the best he could; not wanting to upset her, but recognizing a tortured soul when he saw one. The brunette knew his own Mignonette was one as well, and he didn't know if it was his love for her or what that helped him see her potential to be bright and good, but with that Liz girl… it was harder to discern. And that worried him a little.

"Tell what?" Seras blinked and pouted a little. She hated it when Pip became all deep and cryptic.

"Whether she iz really a 'uman after all… or truly a _monster_ …" The gun for hire explained in a low, serious tone as he gazed back to the door the girl had disappeared through. Seras frowned sadly; hoping such a foreshadowing statement like that was wrong and that Liz would be okay.

All the while, none were aware of the watchful gaze of Alucard; who had observed the whole scene from the shadows from his room. He sat in his favorite chair, pondering over everything that had been discussed, and marveling some at what the young Hellsing had gone through.

After all that, and what he was sure to be more, the baffling brunette still had hope? Still had the **will** to endure and see things through to what would and could most likely be a gruesome and bitter end? He leaned back; a grin curling his lips and exposing his glistening, fanged smile.

" **Humans** … are indeed so _fascinatingly_ convoluted…" The No Life King mused to himself. And after a few minutes of waiting, did the hurriedly approaching, soft footsteps draw his attention back to the frozen doorway, as the object of his thoughts came ever nearer to his room.

His red eyes flashed with a touch of excitement at her having actually come back just for a simple want not to let that simpering butler down. A deep chortle spilled from his pale lips as he stood and melted back into the darkness; wondering what her reaction would be to _his_ little surprise when she reached her destination…

"Hurry, **hurry**." The vampire chortled quietly with glee as he lurked in the darkness.


	13. Of Foreshadow and Fortitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see what was going on with Integra in the meanwhile...

Integra glanced up when a hurried knock sounded on her door, and a rather flustered looking Henry came scuttling up to her desk. He looked like he had something important to announce but was waiting for her permission it seemed; fidgeting with his pocket watch by twirling it over and over in his pocket, as was one of his nervous habits. She rolled her one good eye and told him to speak.

"S-sorry to interrupt you Mum, b-but the R-Round Table Conference is w-waiting to convene a video c-conference with you!" Henry explained in a rush; the reason for his anxiety becoming apparent now.

It was indeed a curiosity whenever the Convention of Twelve wished to convene about something out of the blue. Henry followed quickly after Integra as the woman left swiftly for the conference room.

Seeing as it was in the age where technology had advanced, they no longer had to hold all of their gatherings in person and could do it over a video chat now. Integra took her proper place at the head of the oval table as Henry hurried over and pressed a button to open up the wall and reveal individual screens; each one with one of the other eleven of the Twelve on it.

Upon catching his older brother's eye, Henry smiled meekly in silent greeting to his sibling whom gave him just the smallest twitch of one in reply; the matter for which this meeting was called must have been serious for that to happen. Anxiety gnawed at Henry, but he did his best to remain composed as he stood beside his Master.

"Evening gentlemen. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" The blonde replied in her usual calm, business tone with her fingers steepled in front of her.

"Good evening Sir Hellsing, but I'm afraid this meeting brings no pleasure in any sense of the word. I convened this Round-Table Conference to discuss a matter that I had _hoped_ was not related to the supernatural." Stated Sir Irons rather gravely. Some of the men grumbled but Integra remained silent.

"Over the last several months, the number of missing persons has risen to startling heights. And according to our research into the matter, it would seem that dark forces have a hand in it." The man continued.

"What brings you to such a conclusion Sir Irons?" Integra inquired concisely.

"We have recently uncovered a sort of underground fight club where the fighters appear to be vampires." At this Integra quirked a curious brow.

"A gruesome gladiatorial of monsters? Are you quite certain they aren't simply posing as them to draw in the crowd?" Her questions were met with a stern shake of the young mans head as Sir Irons answered.

"If _only_ that were the case. And what's worse is that when they aren't just fighting amongst each other, they enjoy tossing in combatants that are human as well, or simply throwing innocent people; who clearly don't want to be there, in like chum and letting the vampires rip them apart like they used to do in the Roman days with lions. Positively despicable…" The Council Councilor did indeed look disgusted and disturbed by such actions, and the fact that people seemed to enjoy spectating such horrors.

"Hmm, and I take it that you wish Hellsing to intervene and shut them down." It was more of an acknowledging of what was undoubtedly expected than a question, but Sir Irons gave a nod and spoke anyway.

"You are to have two of your forces infiltrate, as a fighter and their sponsor, to determine whether these vampires are true undead or cheap imitations." Integra's eye widened and her hands lowered as she leaned forward slightly.

"Are you suggesting that these creatures could be Artificial Vampires like Millennium created?" She asked cautiously; all the while hoping the answer would not be what was probably to come.

"Unfortunately… I _am_ Sir Integra…" He replied with all seriousness. Everyone was shocked by this; muttering amongst themselves as they could all see each other clearly on their screens, while Integra tried to process this new development.

"How have you come to determine such might be the case Sir Irons?" She was calm in her question but she needed to know. They had destroyed ALL of Millennium years ago! How could there be any doubt, any **speculation** that they could be back?!

"This abomination of an event hosts live feeds to those willing to pay for it. And on these we discovered the answer to your very question Integra." And with that, he pressed a button and all the screens showed the same video.

A shadowy figure emerged from a pair of doors and entered the caged in, arena styled ring. Her eye grew large at the horrifying recognition of the figure who stood before the crowd and cameras with a rather deadpan expression.

"No…" She muttered breathlessly.

"It can't be…" Integra didn't quite know what to make of it, and neither did Henry or anyone else for that matter.

"That is precisely what we want you to determine Sir Hellsing. Whether this is the very person we believe it to be, or some sort of _thing_ made to look like him. Either way, investigate this matter and then destroy any and all who get in your way. If any of the civilians who went missing are there and can be saved, they should be secured as well." Sir Irons told her; pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Very well. I shall have Seras and Alucard handle the matter." However, this answer did not appease.

"No. You will send that _other_ monster in your menagerie." His voice was sharp and left no room for argument (at least with most people), but Integra didn't quite understand the reason for this order.

"With all due respect, why her?" The man on the screen frowned a bit.

"To test her fortitude. If she is to remain with you, then we will need to know that she is _worth_ keeping." The blonde Hellsing didn't take kindly to his answer, but she surmised that it couldn't be helped since they didn't see Elizabeth in the same light she did.

"And let me guess… you want _her_ to be the fighter?" Integra queried derisively.

"Correct. If we have Alucard fight, then I no doubt suspect that their cover would be blown. So… having a new piece on the board would prove wise." The Councilor replied without a hint of remorse for the decision.

"The Round-Table Conference has taken into consideration already that the young Hellsing is of your kin, but as we've told you before… there is _no_ room in this arrangement, under the circumstances, for there to be any complications due to familial affairs. She is a weapon, a _servant_ , and _you_ her Master. And, by the Order of the Protestant Knights, you are to treat her as nothing more than that, Sir Integra." When he finished, all the other members gave a grave nod; making the blonde wish she could simply sic Alucard on them and make them change their minds.

However, orders were orders, and sadly, she had a responsibility to Queen, church, and country before her own wants and needs. Or even the needs of her own family. Such was the life of a Hellsing…

"I am _well_ aware Sir Irons, and I understand." Integra answered in a cool and grim tone; her nerves steeling themselves for what she knew she had to do, but already starting to hate herself for it nonetheless…


	14. A Game of Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liz goes back for the cart, but is in for a surprise and some shadowy fun...!

Liz couldn't believe she'd forgotten the dang serving cart! But when her mind had been as troubled as it had, she surmised mistakes were easy to make. She blamed that masochistic vampire for it mostly, but knew some of the blame lay with her too.

She hurried down the dungeon corridors; descending the stairs three at a time and going down deeper and deeper until she came just outside of where she had left the cart. However, to her great surprise, it was nowhere to be seen!

"But… I know I left it here…" Liz frowned in disbelief. She glanced to the icy door she had made. It was untouched… but she knew that vampire could get around such trivialities with ease.

Liz wondered if perhaps he took it? It sounded like something he might do. He _did_ seem to like messing with her… so why not? With a small sigh, Liz used her powers to get rid of the ice door and headed cautiously into Alucard's room again.

The first place her eyes went were to his chair. But he wasn't there. Maybe her aunt had summoned him. Or he went off somewhere to… do whatever it was he did. OR, maybe he was watching her like a creeper from the shadows again. Which, from the way she still felt eyes upon her, was more than likely the case.

Icy orbs scanned the dark room; hoping to see the cart somewhere. And with a jolt of triumph, she spotted it! The only downside to this was that it was in the darkest part of the room. The dim, flickering blue lights on the walls causing the metal wheeled device to glint in the distance.

"Damn… this just screams "trap"…" Liz sighed as she shook her head; her hands on her hips. But instead of leaving, like she probably should have, the lass started heading bravely toward it. And as soon as she did, the brunette could've sworn she saw the edges of the shadows give an excited sort of squirm.

Liz decided to ignore it; but was well on guard now. She was almost to the cart, when she stopped and softly sighed again; knowing that pesky undead was up to something. Alucard waited silently; wondering why she had stopped.

"I know you're there… why you're choosing to hide _now_ is what is the mystery." At this, Liz began calmly looking around. And for a startling moment, Alucard wondered if she could somehow sense him.

Well, in a way she could. It was pinpointing him that was the problem. Her symbiotic suit allowed her the ability to find people when she wanted to; though it took concentration and quite a few years before learning about this skill. But with Alucard… it was difficult. She figured he was made to be that way though, and chose to go by instinct instead since that always helped her.

"You're not a coward, that's for sure. So what? You wanna play hide-and-seek?" Still no answer. But she just _knew_ she could feel him there. Feel those smiling red eyes watching. It put her on edge.

The woman's brazen behavior was interesting, and he couldn't help smirking. She waited another moment before moving toward the cart again; realizing she wasn't going to get an answer.

She reached the cart and just gave it a look of regard. Then, she turned her head in the direction she felt the eyes; causing Alucard's to widen and wonder if the woman really could see him. Oh, how **curious** this one!

"Tell you what… you wanna play, that's fine. But I need to get this back to Henry in one piece, so if you don't mind, could we not have it in the way?" It was a polite and reasonable request, so he figured he would oblige that much.

The cart sank down into the shadows and disappeared. The telltale squeak of the wheels from back where she had it could be faintly heard. Liz actually smiled, and that in itself caught him a tad off guard.

"Thank you." Liz said appreciatively; turning to fully face where she was looking. Then he had to leap aside to dodge the sudden lunging figure of Liz that made up the blur of blue and black.

That was **fast!** He'd barely had time to see that one! Alucard felt a rush of excitement as he turned; still concealed by the darkness that cloaked most of the room now. Had he somehow made it darker?

It wouldn't have surprised her much if he did. And she was pretty sure he had. Liz whizzed passed Alucard, and she smirked when she felt the other moving away from her attack. It had only been to confirm that he was there, and it worked.

She landed on all fours; twisting her body around so that she faced the direction she felt he was in and making another attempt. When he moved this time, she managed to feel a part of his red trench coat flutter and brush her hand. She was getting closer!

The third time she rushed him, the cocky bastard gave her a playful little push between the shoulder blades; almost upsetting her balance and causing her to stumble some. Liz gave a low growl and he chortled; the sounds echoing around them.

For Alucard, it was sort of like an entertaining version of dodge ball. She was the ball and he was the one dodging. For her it was like a game of tag or keep away. And while this went on for a few minutes, even Liz couldn't help but find it rather fun.

The frosty female would get just close enough and be about to grab him, but then he'd slip away; every now and then giving her a light shove in some direction or another to tease her.

They had yet to exchange a single hit so far, and yet the vampire found their odd game to be entertaining. He even heard her snicker every once in a while when she almost had him; his skin feeling slightly tingly wherever she happened to graze him. Making the vampire intentionally let her get _just_ close enough to touch him so he could feel it again and again.

Liz got an idea, and the next time she went to make a dash for him, she crossed her arms at the last second and twisted around so that she could shoot two strings of symbiotic webbing at him! The Vampire King was caught by surprise when he felt the gooey substance hit him in the chest, and even more so when she gave a sharp jerk that yanked him forward.

Seeing as he was on unsteady footing from having been in the middle of moving, he ended up being like one of those paddle balls. And indeed he felt like one soon enough, because when she pulled him forward, he received a fist to the face that sent him reeling back!

"Gotcha!" The brunette cheered brightly. Alucard laid on the floor for a moment and then began to get up. He was about to laugh when he ended up down on the ground again! But this time, it was because a svelte form had just tackled him!

He could feel the heat from her body wash over him as soon as she came within a few inches, and its intensity increased when she straddled his waist and placed her hand firmly on his throat.

That brown hair began glimmering over with white; practically glowing like moonlight against the black that surrounded them, as the young woman raised her other hand and began forming something in it. The vampire felt his excitement growing at what she might do now…

However, just as it was starting to get good, Alucard scowled when could hear his Master summoning him. He grimaced and the lass halted; feeling something was amiss. She blinked when the shadows of the room began to ebb, and she could finally see the unhappy face that Alucard wore.

"What's wrong?" The brunette asked with a frown.

"My **Master** is calling." He told her in a harsh and annoyed tone, that she knew wasn't directed at her. Liz gave a curt nod and began getting off of him. But he grabbed her by the wrist firmly, and they stared at each other. Questioning silver-blue into determined red.

"We **will** finish our **game** another time." He stated sternly as his eyes narrowed; rather hell-bent on continuing.

"Count on it, _Count_." She teased with a smirk. And he let her go with one of his own. They both got up and he quirked a brow when Liz gave him a small smile before turning and leaving to go return the cart.

Alucard smirked as he watched her go, before vanishing to go see what Integra wanted. He hoped it was a mission, but at the same time, if it wasn't, at least he knew he wouldn't be bored…


	15. Rise of the Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a new character comes into play, and Liz must learn her place...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Fallen: People who died in war: those people killed in war or battle, especially while fighting.

Liz pushed the little cart along while she muddled. It was very weird being around the vampire Alucard. She never really knew what to expect. And just when she thought she wanted to leave or do something mean or harmful, she ended up somehow enjoying herself.

Though when she started to delight in morbid fun and fascination, it tended to make her feel uneasy. Was she _supposed_ to like it? Was it okay? Did they train her with the knowledge or hope that she might like it?

No one ever answered when she asked. And Kassy was more or less a broken record of bad influence. So she didn't exactly have much to go on except internal conflict of "good and evil" crap.

Liz frowned and wondered what Integra would think if she knew what Alucard was provoking her into. Not that she wanted to bring it up. She was curious, not stupid. When she made it up out of the dungeon, Liz saw Henry waiting there and looking jittery.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The brunette quirked her brow.

"S-Sir Integra w-would like to s-see you…" Henry stuttered out; looking like a mouse caught in a cats slowly closing jaws. But before she could respond, he scuttled behind her and began pushing her along.

"W-we better h-hurry! She's been w-waiting!" He explained; apparently apologetic for having to hasten their pace. Liz began walking quickly at that; wondering what could cause her _and_ Alucard to be summoned.

She figured Henry had been waiting since she left Alucard's room, since he couldn't bring himself to go down there like before. Henry was doing his best to keep up with her swift stride.

He thanked her for bringing back his cart and asked if she had any problems, and she told him it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. He seemed both puzzled and glad for this, and soon they reached Sir Hellsing's office.

Integra was sitting a tad impatiently at her desk; as was reflected in her useable eye when she looked up from a laptop on her desk at the two who entered. Alucard had been gazing dully out the window at the moon; though he had been enjoying the nightly view. But when he heard someone come in, he looked, and red rubies grew a little large at seeing his bonny playmate enter.

Henry went to stand beside the desk as Liz stood before it. Alucard came over to stand beside the brunette, and smirked when she ignored him. He gave an unnecessary shift so that their arms brushed, and took delight in the warning look she flashed him when Integra glanced down to the monitor on the laptop that was sitting in front of her. He didn't even bother trying to look innocent, but didn't do it again.

"Over the course of several months, all around England, there has been a severe number of missing persons cases filed as well as a decrease in the homeless. At first, the authorities didn't know what to think, but the Convention of Twelve took a look into the matter to deduce whether it was related to _our_ _kind_ of work or not." The platinum blonde paused for Henry to light her cigar.

"It would appear that it is indeed a supernatural matter. Show them Henry." She ordered the butler as she took a puff. He gave a nod and then turned the laptop to them; typing in a few things and pulling up one of the videos that were on file.

Liz leaned in a little; though mostly to put some distance between her and the vampire. He thought it was a clever move. As it began playing, the video showed a huge, caged in stadium that resembled a coliseum for gladiatorial battles; but it was way too dark to be the kind outside. It seemed to be underground.

"Someone has been hosting a series of underground "games" with none other than vampires as their so called " _Champions_ "." Both Liz and Alucard eyed Integra with questioning looks. The woman took another drag before continuing.

"If you look closely at the video, you'll see that they not only fight amongst one another, but they're fighting against _ordinary_ humans as well." And as she spoke, it could be seen that rather disheveled looking humans were screaming and getting ripped apart by the ghoulishly vampiric brutes; who looked to be like fighters you'd see in a wrestling match.

"These videos were discovered being broadcast from an untraceable source, and can only be viewed upon paying a questionable sum first. We aren't sure where they are being held either. In order to find their location and be rid of this appalling abomination, we purchased two tickets and entered one of you as a fighter; as that is accepted." At this Alucard grinned.

"Am I to **decimate** them for you then Master?" Integra eyed him; knowing that he was about to get in a frenzy like a shark with blood in the water, and thus gave him a rather stern look.

"No Alucard. Not quite…" At this, he looked rather disappointed.

"Henry, show them the _complication_ we came across." Henry gave a half bow and did as he was told; pulling up another video for them to view. This one was of a match that had zombie looking creatures in the arena.

"Ghouls…?" Alucard asked with a sneer; wondering how this could be a complication. It shouldn't even be a… **wait** … could it _be_? His eyes widened and he bent down a bit to see if his eyes were deceiving him.

A young man entered the coliseum, a VERY young man. No more than fourteen to be exact. He had messy black hair and wore standard black and white butler attire, with black fingerless gloves. When he came out, and the signal was given to start; a mere flash of something silver showed up on the screen as the ghouls began falling apart.

The ghouls were being sliced apart with ease, by what most would've thought to be an unseen force; had they not been like Liz and Alucard who _could_ make out such wicked speed and finesse, and Integra who'd already known what was used to do it.

"Walter?" Alucard breathed in disbelief. He looked to his Master who had a very troubled look on her stern face.

" _That's_ the problem. We _don't_ know. It could be him or a cheap imitation. The reason we're sending you in is to investigate _before_ you start destroying the place." Integra explained.

"And you want me to **fight** him? Hohoh! I'm liking this mission **already**!" His Master gave him a blunt look that caused his elation to falter some.

"I already told you _no_ Alucard. And I mean that. Elizabeth is to be the fighter, and you her Master." At this, both vampire and human turned to stare at Integra in shock.

"My what?!" Liz blurted in disbelief; wrapping her arms around herself defensively. Alucard felt conflicted. He thought Liz's reaction was rather comical and wanted to tease her, but he was also very disappointed and rather irked that he wouldn't be getting to fight Walter and that she would. Then of course... There came the other matter that he found **most** interesting.

"Calm yourself." Integra told her firmly, though she did raise her voice a little. Liz only tightened her grip around herself but didn't make so much as a peep.

"AS I was saying… Elizabeth will be fighting against Walter. If they see Alucard fight then they'll no doubt figure out who we are before we need them to. And Elizabeth… Alucard has to sponsor you as his fighter. In these games the titles given as such are Master and Champion… although I suppose you could call him _Dominus_ instead." Integra told them; smirking a little in her teasing at the end.

Elizabeth felt her face get a little warm and bowed her head a little. She really didn't like the thought of calling anyone "Master", much less that cheeky vampire.

"I'd rather take a hammer to his face." She grumbled, and Alucard heard her and smirked. He suddenly swooped behind her, and had his arms draped around her shoulders like a cloak; making her tense. Integra had heard the comment, but only raised her brow when she saw what Alucard was doing. Why he had to be such an unpredictably incorrigible imp, Integra would never know…

"You mean to say, Sir Integra, that for the _entire_ mission, this one has to do _whatever_ **I say**?" He asked in a mischievous tone; making the girl in his loose embrace even more uncomfortable and give a squirm. The blonde hesitated. She wasn't sure it was wise to give the answer she knew she had to.

"Yes… unfortunately. But I expect you BOTH to behave. This is already a delicate situation if that really _is_ Walter C. Dornez." The elder Hellsing told them.

"But… Aunt Integra… please! Isn't there-" Elizabeth tried; leaning forward to try and shirk him off and better talk to her aunt, only to be held firmly in place by strong arms.

"No! There isn't! Now compose yourself like a _proper_ Hellsing and soldier and do your job." Her aunt ordered sharply. Integra was already pretty pissed that the Twelve would even consider doing this sort of thing. Much less to her niece. But orders were orders unfortunately.

"And from here on, you are _not_ to refer to me as your aunt. Master, Ma'am or Sir Hellsing will do." Integra added; disliking having to treat the girl like a servant rather than family. And hating herself even more at the shattered look that took over the girl's face.

"Y-yes… Master…" The girl all but whimpered. And Alucard blinked and found it strangely unsettling how Liz's body suddenly felt cold and dead; like the life had just been sucked out of her. Before he could think better of it, he tightened his grip on her, but got no response. Which did not seem to bode well in his opinion.

Integra finished giving them their orders before Henry took over; while the vampire couldn't help feeling rather angry at her and feeling sorry for the girl, who didn't so much as budge until it was time to leave.

Alucard felt the other pushing weakly at his arms to let go; like she didn't even have the strength or simply didn't have the will, and then left the room like a robot. He turned his attention upon the blonde behind her desk.

"Why did you do that? Isn't she supposed to be your guest?" Alucard had no idea why the young woman was here at all, or really why he felt and was reacting to what had happened. Integra heaved a heavy sigh and leaned forward in her seat.

"No. She is far from a guest. In order to have her here, certain… _conditions_ had to be met. And one of them was that she be treated as any servant or weapon would." Red eyes widened.

"So… she _is_ like Seras and I then?" The woman gave an incline of her head.

"It would seem the girl has quite the streak of bad luck indeed. But because of what she is, she _must_ be treated as such. I tried to give her a few days to pretend it was like it used to be, but now that the Twelve contacted me to reinforce these rules, I see that was cruel of me; despite my intentions." The old woman exhaled a stream of smoke; looking weary.

"I should have explained myself better and made a point to distance us from the start." Alucard grimaced but kept his voice calm.

"You always have put the organization first." His tone was a bit bitter, and Integra couldn't blame him. But that still didn't mean she felt like dealing with a disapproving vampire.

"You are dismissed _Servant_." She told him in a calm, warning tone. And he left in his usual way; leaving the woman to wonder what her family's legacy was coming to if her own kin were to be treated so.

But then again, she was a servant to the crown in her own right, so she supposed it was simply the natural order of things. At least… that was what she decided to tell herself before returning to her work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some interesting/fun facts about mind controlling/brainwashing (in my opinion):   
> 1: Just because someone is under the forces of mind control/brainwashing, doesn't mean they have any memory or knowledge of it.  
> 2: Even if they SAY/CLAIM that they are not being brainwashed or controlled doesn't mean that they aren't. HELLO! LOL They're being controlled remember? More than likely, they were programmed/told to say that to throw you off! XD Villains be tricky like dat!   
> 3: Just because the person who was under someone's mind control/brainwashing, doesn't mean they had a choice in it, as them having to be under someone's mind control/brainwashing crap usually means they were either forced or tricked in some manner or another.  
> 4: When the person who says/claims they haven't been mind controlled/brainwashed, gives you a REALLY vague and BS answer or none at all, chances are, they were probably under orders not to give the real reason behind it to give the appearance of betrayal to make the whole mindjacking/brainwashing of the person more damaging and such to the friend or whoever of the brainwashed person.
> 
> Now! With that said… LOL I have my own method for WHY Walter is back and what happened to him. So just stay tuned and read to find out. Should be fun! XD


	16. Know Thy Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elizabeth gets to better know her supposed enemy...

After his dismissal, Alucard went in search of the young lass. Oddly enough, he found her in the library. The lights were off and she was sitting on one of the window seats in the furthest corner. The window was open and she was forming little balls of ice and tossing them out; watching them fall pensively.

He leaned nonchalantly against the bookshelf across from her; his arms crossed loosely over his chest. They were quiet for a while, but it wasn't the uncomfortable kind. The young woman was muddling over what her aunt had said.

She knew the vampire was standing there; staring at her languidly ever since he came in. Liz turned to look at him and held up an ice ball to him; gingerly gesturing with her head to the window in silent offering.

He quirked an eyebrow but reached out and accepted the frosty sphere; turning it over in his long, gloved fingers before chucking it out. She waited until he did to hold up her hand and shot out a gob of black and blue webbing. They watched as it engulfed the sphere and hurled it further out.

Alucard found it mildly amusing, and when she saw his expression, she smiled some. When she took her turn of throwing one out, he whipped out his gun and shot at it. Liz jumped at the loud sound; watching as the ice shattered like a crystal from the bullet before her attention fell on the impishly laughing vampire.

Elizabeth glowered and then threw an small snow ball at his face. He stopped laughing and blinked when the soft, icy fluff ball collided with his forehead; his hand going up to touch the spot, as the part that didn't stick plopped onto the floor and began to melt. It was her turn to laugh then, and he grinned and joined in.

"Heh, do you _ever_ move when projectiles come at you?" Liz asked as her mirth died down. Her mood was considerably lightened now.

"When I feel like it." He replied casually. She laughed and glanced out the window.

"Some day, when it snows… we should have a snowball fight." The lass turned her head to look back to him.

"I bet I'd be able to beat you at that." Liz remarked confidently.

"Is that _all_ you think you could beat me at?" His eyebrow raised with a smirk.

"Hmm… I don't know… I guess if I actually put effort into it then, maybe." The brunette said thoughtfully. Alucard knew that she'd only been either playing or not putting any heart into their little bouts. He wondered if she would ever get serious enough to show him her true potential? The No Life King sincerely hoped so.

A pregnant pause and then she spoke again.

"I apologize for my earlier behavior…" Came the quiet apology.

"What about it?" He inquired aloofly; though he was curious. She frowned and waved her hand airily.

"The whole thing really. I shouldn't have expected life with my aunt to be like it was. Pretty silly of me I guess, since nothing's been normal since that night… Plus our family has always been "business first" when it comes to, well, pretty much everything." Liz hugged her knees and rested her chin on her arms.

"I mean, she has a job to do and people to answer to. She's just as much a servant as I am now, so I'm gonna try to accept that and just be grateful for what I have instead of wanting things that are gone." The lass finished with remarkable calm and common sense. Alucard was rather impressed by how the other took her servitude in stride. But he felt like pressing a particular point.

"Does this mean you're okay with calling _me_ **Master** when we go on our mission?" The vampire teased smirkingly.

"You _wish_." She scoffed and chucked another snowball his way, but he tilted his head to the side and it hit the bookcase behind him instead.

"What, afraid of a little snow now _Nosferatu_?" Liz taunted good naturedly.

"No. Your aim just sucks _Icecube_." He countered mockingly.

"Pfft! You're a vampire. You're the one that sucks." The lass said as she shut the window and got up. He followed behind her as she walked out of the room; Liz suspected he probably would.

"Touché." Alucard smirked; following like a red clad shadow. She slowed down so that they could walk beside one another and he looked at her oddly.

"Don't look at me like that. I just wanted a better vantage point in case I wanted to snowball you again." The brunette gave him a friendly smile; but her eyes twinkled playfully.

"Heh, give it your best shot." Crimson orbs spied her from the corner of his eyes, and she could see them because he wasn't wearing his sunglasses still. A few seconds passed as they kept walking, and he figured it was an empty threat.

But then, something wet and slushy hit the side of his head and he gave her a look of annoyance at having been hit with another damn snowball. She whistled innocently and held her hands together in front of her to try and pretend like she wasn't the culprit; looking ever the picture of innocence.

The vampire gave a snort of mirth at the unconvincing act before giving her a shove at the wall, so that she ended up being swallowed into one of his shadow portals. She disappeared into it with a cute "EEP!" before she was gone.

He followed briskly after her, and as he stepped gracefully out, he gave a roar of laughter when he saw that she had ended up getting caught off guard and in her moment of panic she shot a string of webbing to the ceiling and was now dangling upside-down. However, she hadn't shot it in time, so her head knocked against the floor and she spun around dizzily and rubbed the sore spot.

"Oh _shut it_ Death Breath." The brunette snapped before using her free hand to shot a gob of webbing over his mouth. Alucard was silenced and startled by the act, and after a second or two of yanking and tugging, he managed to get it off of his face and shot her a dirty look.

The young Hellsing paid him no mind as she got to her feet and rubbed her head some more. She looked around and realized they were back in a room that looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time, but clearly someone had used it at one time and made their home here. Liz frowned bemusedly.

"Where are we?" She asked upon looking around. Alucard said nothing and went over to an old roll top desk and opened it. Liz cautiously came to stand beside him to see what was there.

"This is the room of the previous Hellsing butler, Walter C. Dornez. And _this_ is who he used to be." The ravenette gestured to the photo on the desk of an aging Walter; with his long black hair tied back in a ponytail and a monocle, as he proudly stood next to a young Integra. He had a hand affectionately yet respectfully placed on either of her shoulders. They both had on calm yet happy smiles.

"Oh… so, is he the same Walter that-" She began as she picked up the picture and rubbed her fingers over it to wipe off the dust.

"Yes." Alucard cut in sharply. Liz winced a little, and figured the former butler's betrayal of the Hellsing Organization must have cut deeper than she'd realized. But it made sense… Alucard, Integra and Walter had been battling the forces of the supernatural for years together. They must have been close.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you…" The vampire was taken aback by the sincerity in her tone, but merely turned away. It had been over thirty years since he'd been in this room. And it was rarer still that he ever came into the old vampire hunters room. The gent had liked his privacy, but that only made Alucard wonder if perhaps that was due to him being a sleeper cell agent for Millennium…

"Why did you bring me here?" The lass asked in a gentle and wary manner as she set the picture frame down; turning her head in the vampires direction.

"So that you can better understand your enemy." He rumbled informatively; though his usual enthusiasm was rather lacking. Alucard peered over to see that she had come to stand beside him again, but his eyes turned back to the view outside the window.

"Is it okay if I ask you about him then?" He could tell she was trying not to pick at old wounds, but he had brought her here for a reason, so one might as well go all the way with it.

"Not really… but do it anyway." Was his response.

"Okay… so why did he betray Hellsing?" It was a pretty decent first question she thought.

"Why do you want to know that?" He asked; wondering how that could help.

"If I can understand his reasons for doing so, then it could help me to better figure out his motives. You have to understand the person to truly know thy enemy." Liz told him in a matter of fact way; with her pointer finger up like one sometimes does when explaining. He found it somewhat comical, but credible.

"Very well." The vampire humored.

"We're not _entirely_ sure why Walter decided to double-cross Hellsing… The theories are that; he may have been working with them and turned traitor back when we first met the Millennium Group in WWII, one where the Major forcefully drafted him by brainwashing him as a sort of sleeper cell, and the last being that he was kidnapped and the process that made him a vampire also altered his mind so Walter fell under their control." Alucard deadpanned.

"Which do you think happened?" The vampire considered the question.

"Walter… he never gave the impression to be the type to turn **traitor** for _absolutely_ **no real reason**. All of the ones he'd made during our last battle didn't even seem to make sense to _him_. And nothing appeared different about him after Warsaw. **But** …" He paused; his brow furrowing as he tried to put his finger on what he wanted to say. She waited patiently for him; listening intently.

"When my Master awoke me to save her from that swine of an uncle… there was just something _off_ about Walter when we met again. I just couldn't seem to figure out _what_." Liz saw his confusion as she processed the information.

"It does sound fishy… but from what I've gathered, Millennium was beyond shady in all that it did." She reasoned, and he gave a slight nod. They stood there for a few moments in silence.

"You know… this will be my first mission." Red peered down at her curiously.

" **Scared**?" He asked with a touch of dark amusement. She gave a small smile and shook her head.

"More nervous really… how do these things usually go?" Silvery blue gazed up into crimson.

"We assess the situation, then **destroy** any and _all_ in our wake." The Vampire King told her as if speaking of the weather.

"Hmm, you make it sound so easy…" Liz mused as she saw him blink and then give a smirk; but she could tell that there was something hiding just behind that look.

"I'm a **monster**. Such things come very _easy_ to **monsters**." He stated; like it was some unwritten law everyone should know. It seemed to her that, just because he said this, it didn't mean he was as pleased with it as he wanted her to believe. Even so, she couldn't help wondering…

"Do you think it'll come easy to me then?" The young Hellsing asked with uncertainty. He wasn't quite sure how to answer that, and was rather taken aback. Then again… his Master _had_ confirmed that she was just a servant as he and his bubble headed fledgling were.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Won't we?" Alucard replied coolly. Honestly, he didn't know whether or not the lass was a monster. But, he knew they'd find out eventually. Liz gave a curt nod, but couldn't help feeling even more anxious about the upcoming mission.

"Yeah… guess so…" She spoke softly, reaching up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

They gazed out the window up at the lovely moon. It was a while from being full, but they both appreciated its simple, dark beauty in their own way. All the while, they pondered idly just what lay ahead in the days to come… with a sense of foreboding and anticipation…


	17. Crimson Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our fiendish friends engage in some more morbid merriment!

Alucard shifted to observe her out of the corner of his eyes, and those red orbs grew a few fractions at seeing how _eerily_ **exquisite** they looked with the moon reflected in them! He felt a _stirring chill_ run throughout his body when she noticed and then fixed her gaze upon him.

Liz became drawn from the light trance she had fallen into as the intense stare the vampire was unconsciously giving the lass caused that familiar prickling from being watched to surface.

When she turned her head to look up at him, their eyes locked, and they found they couldn't look away. Pale, luscious pink lips parted ever so slightly; wanting to say something to him, but she was at a complete and utter loss for words.

Those bright scarlet slits felt like they were trying to swallow her up like his shadow portal had earlier. She'd never seen anything like them before! They were slanted like a cats, but seemed to be glowing so vibrantly. The brunette felt a sudden tingling spread over her; it made her symbiote give a faint squirm that only she was aware of, though it wasn't exactly unpleasant…

Alucard leaned down to get a better look at those icy, soulful orbs, but Liz instinctively moved back. He kept going until the brunette's back was flat against the wall. The sudden contact of the cool wall and knowledge of being cornered startling the lass a bit, but they never broke eye contact.

He loomed down over her, like a calm and patient predator. Their faces were only about seven or so inches apart, but their bodies were only about half that, and they could feel it. Not much was really going on in either of their minds; it was all sense and instinct right now. Something they both understood best.

Her breath hitched in her throat. It was hard to breath when he looked at her like that and how _close_ he was. She felt overwhelmed and confused because she didn't understand why he kept trying to get so near. Or why he acted this way.

But it was a contradictory feeling of uncomfortable and a sense of longing for the lass; she had no idea what to think, though mostly because she couldn't at the moment. It was as if her brain had decided to shut off, or she was under some kind of crimson spell… But Alucard had no need of using any of his hypnotic powers, for he felt just as **captivated** ; if not more so.

Rustling of cloth beside either side of her head signified Alucard placing a hand on the wall in just those spots; putting the lass even more on edge. But she stood her ground; neither appearing to want to nor able to avert their gazes.

They had neglected to turn any lights on when they came in the room, but moonlight illuminated it well enough in the darkness. Liz gasped softly when she felt something cool and wispy brush passed her hand and glanced down.

The darkness that their shadows cast was moving like it was alive! It was creeping up the wall, around her legs and near her hands; swaying and swirling lazily as it kept just about an inch or so of a distance.

When the lass returned her gaze to his, he smirked smugly; sensing how uncomfortable all of this was making her and liking how well she handled it. He watched how she tried to stay as still as possible to avoid touching the shadows again; her delicate looking hands clenching into fists.

"What's the **matter** …? _Afraid_ of the big, _bad_ **monster**?" Alucard asked in a quiet, devilish voice just loud enough for her to hear. Elizabeth cringed at the smell of his breath; her sensitive nose wrinkling at the scent of death, blood, and what must be how a rotting copse must smell. All with a hint of what she guessed was that wine he liked to drink.

It was indeed a sickening combination with a strange sweetness and familiarity to it that she didn't quite understand. To have it right in ones face would've probably made most gag or feel ill, but the brunette merely found it enough to cringe at and wonder why if he ever brushed his damn teeth.

"Why?" The strong yet whisper of a question from the lass startled him a little; especially with such a calm and controlled way she asked it, despite her obvious unease at their close proximity.

"Why what?" He had a feeling what she meant, but wanted clarification. This only seemed to add more strength behind her next words.

"Why should I… _No_ … why _would_ I be afraid of you? There are reasons yes, but while I have fear, I shall not let it conquer me, lest I fall prey to the _real_ monsters in this world." Her voice was a little higher now and bolder, just above a whisper but quiet enough so that the conversation would only be between them.

His smirk softened into a strange sort of small smile that looked to be of both happiness and sadness… that bittersweetness to it she felt she had seen little glimpses of from him before.

" _Why_ indeed… humans are meant to **fear** monsters. So if you don't fear me, what does that make _you_ then?" The vampire taunted with amusement and curiosity. She merely gave a shake of her head.

"You misunderstand me… Humans fear that which they do not understand… and though I do not fully understand you yet Vampire, I do indeed have fear, just not of you. To me, fear… it's a very important instinct that helps to keep those of us who _choose_ to embrace and conquer it alive." Alucard blinked at the spark of ferocity he began to see growing in those moonlit orbs of hers and in her words as she continued. It caused him to back off of her a couple of inches.

"To simply be afraid does _not_ make one human… No, to overcome the paralyzing grip it has on you, and bravely face the wolf tearing and howling at your door, to act and fight even if it means your death, instead of take flight from such horrors, _that_ is what makes a human being!" By now, the lass seemed to be alight with a blaze of fierceness he could only recall from memories long, long ago…

Crimson orbs grew large as he listened and was steadily filled with terrifying excitement at the sheer intensity that poured off of her; making the shadows that wisped about her wriggle with enthusiasm.

" **Hahahahahahah**! **Well said** new hound of Hellsing!" He roared with elation as his eyes glowed and his fanged grin grew wide. With a swooping motion, he loomed closer to her again and stared challengingly into her eyes as one of his hands slammed against the wall in the same instant. It only made him more delighted when the loud noise made her start a little in surprise but her gaze never wavered.

" _Now_ … **show me! Show me** how much **bite** there is to your _bark_!" And with that, the shadows twirling about the lass suddenly closed their distance; constricting around her arms and legs and binding her painfully where she stood.

"Grhk… You… _really_ have to… do this now… don't you?" She gritted out coolly as she tried to shirk off the black bonds. They only tightened around her, and so she ceased to figure out another way out. It wasn't like she could punch him like last time. And that was one reason why he'd chosen to bind her arms this time.

A Cheshire grin tugged at his pale lips at how she handled the situation. What a **fascinating** little creature this one… not _sure_ if she was a human or not, and _yet_ , she strived so desperately to be. To cling to her humanity **despite** her current circumstances and forced servitude! To stare down a **monster** as if it were _nothing,_ and even capable of making quips! It was all too **fun**!

"Why not? We have time." He reasoned teasingly. Liz made a pained noise that she tried to stifle as she bit her bottom lip; her head jerking forward when he had his shadows give her a particularly _rough_ squeeze that he knew would leave bruises, and the thought of leaving marks only making him enjoy it even more.

Then his eye caught a stray lock of hair having fallen into her face. And before he could stop to think, he reached toward it and lightly tucked it back in place; the feather light caress of his gloved fingers eliciting a tiny shiver from the young woman that surprised them both.

She quickly yanked her face away from his hand and gave him a glare. Hmm, who knew it would look so nice on her? Would she be lovelier if perhaps she were angrier? A _provoking_ thought indeed, but one that would need more than mere theory. Further testing was required…

The black tendrils were only up to her elbows; just enough to keep her in place, but the pain and constriction caused her heartbeat to increase. He couldn't help but notice it too. His eyes went from the glower she was giving him to that slender neck and those blood red slits dilated.

The flesh looked as soft as the rest of her. Was it as warm as the heat he could feel radiating off of her or _warmer_? Did it taste as creamy looking as the lightly tan skin appeared? And what of her blood, that crimson delicacy that he could practically **feel** pulsing throughout her svelte form; making his teeth ache to sink into her throat for a taste, was it still as sweet?

He'd barely had enough for a _real_ taste and could hardly remember it. It left him wanting more. His hunger grew, as red orbs stared intently at the tender looking skin. Alucard slowly began leaning in; too caught up in his thoughts and feelings to really care if Integra found out and punished him somehow.

Elizabeth watched his gaze, saw an eerie yet dreamy expression befall his strong features, as she tried not to scream in agony. It was getting difficult to keep her breathing and heart rate steady, but the shadows would not relent.

When he began slowly leaning in, she saw how his gaze stared so intently at her neck; recognized the hungry look those scarlet slits had to them, and began to feel angry at herself for having let him get so close in the first place.

She should've kept her guard up, kept her distance… not allowed them to be so friendly toward one another… But at the same time, knew it couldn't have been avoided, as that was just in her nature to be the way she was, just as it was for him to be who he was.

The brunette didn't want to end up as his dinner, didn't want to let him use her like some sheep that the wolf had cornered. Though even so, Elizabeth didn't think she could find it in her heart to be cruel to him by acting any other way than came naturally to the kindly brunette.

"Id… iot…" The lass gritted, earning his attention; his lips having begun to part as he was only a few inches from her throat; just near enough that she could feel his cool, horrid breath against her skin (though she found it odd that he breathed and wondered if it was simply something he did without thinking). They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes; hazy red into blazing silver-blue.

He suddenly jerked back violently; his hands grabbing painfully onto her shoulders to keep from falling back. Upon looking down, he saw that several black-blue spikes were curled out from the pants on her legs to stab through the back of his where they bent behind the knee; causing him to lose his balance like that.

Alucard saw her smirk victoriously despite the added pain of his fingertips digging into her skin enough to bruise and feel like the bones there were about to crack (while with most _ordinary_ humans such strength would have crushed their bones by now).

More sharp tendrils shot from her body to pierce through his legs and the front of his torso. The shock it caused him allowed the bindings on her to weaken just enough to encourage her efforts.

Her hair frosted over white as she began freezing the impaling implements; along with any part of him that touched them. One must know, that it is **excruciatingly** painful to be speared through by only one thing, but _more_ than one, well, that was something that could only be understood through experience.

As for _then_ being frozen from the inside out at the same time, heh, even Alucard didn't realize how much of a thrill he'd get out of that! To her shock, he began leaning forward; further impaling himself as a low groan was ripped from his throat. The sound made her blush and feel tingly, like when a limb falls asleep and starts waking up, but _disturbingly_ nicer.

Liz waited until they were face to face again before trying out her next move as they stared each other down. His crimson eyes aglow with sadomasochistic elation and hungry for more. The shadowy bindings around her twisted and tightened; causing her to exhale sharply and let loose an agonized utterance that made the hands on her shoulders twitch and flex, as the vampire they were attached to basked in such temptingly twisted delights that this bonny brunette possessed.

His debauchery of invading her space was brought to a stunning end, when she head-butted him hard enough to send his head reeling back to give herself the chance to break free from his shadowy clutches.

Sure, she was pretty strong, but it was hard to fight against mystic shadows when she'd learned from their first meeting that they were rather tricky. Now free, she retracted her symbiotic implements back into herself; the blood that he'd spilled upon them dripping down her clothes, as she didn't think it would be wise to try and absorb it. Instead, leaving it to trickle onto the ground.

"I told you before…" Liz began warningly, as she stepped away from the wall and away from the vampire who now had a bleeding nose.

"I have no tag on me labeling me as your snack. So _fangs off_ Vampire." She continued; glad to finally have some reasonable distance between them once more. Alucard sneered for about a second at his fun having been spoiled, before smirking, as he let the blood drip down his broken nose while it healed like the rest of his wounds; glad to have at least gotten a little fight out of her.

The feeling of something wet and cool running down her face caused her to blink. She reached a hand up to her forehead and upon retracting her hand to examine what it was, did she realize it was Alucard's blood. Silver-blue looked to him with regarding, and held up the blood covered fingers in front of her face.

"It seems that no matter what I do, you're bound to get blood on me somehow. Tell me, does it _excite you_ to see someone with the crimson substance on them, especially when it's yours…? Or is it just me?" Liz inquired with morbid curiosity and a touch of taunting, as she eyed the slick liquid; rolling it around between her two fingers and thumb, and finding with mild surprise that she liked how it felt.

The brunette wondered how it tasted. Did all blood taste different, did vampire blood have a particular flavor all its own, or did that too depend on the vampire? Would it make her a vampire to consume it? She'd never tried because she didn't know. But it was something to ponder.

It wasn't like she ever got sick. Her symbiote gave her a miraculous immunity to all sorts of bacterium and things that would effect those without a sentient alien suit and protected her from all sorts of ailments and harm. She once heard (or did she read it? Liz couldn't recall) that Vampirism was like a sickness, a virus.

If it was, would she be immune to it? A very interesting thing to wonder, but not really a safe way to prove it… And as she pondered, Alucard stared at her, thunderstruck by the question and her actions.

"Hahn, I _delight_ in **bloodshed** whether it is my enemies or my own. It is of no import to me where it _happens_ to land." He replied in a cool and matter of fact way, then he smirked as he watched the red forming thin lines; as it slid from her forehead down her face in a way he found tantalizing.

Why didn't she just wipe it off already? Wasn't she disgusted by it? Did she know how torturously enticing it was to him? Hmm, perhaps not. Such a **pure** soul like her was undoubtedly innocent to such things… or at least not very understanding of them or what they meant or did to others.

"Though I can't deny how _well_ it suits you. To be able to see how you've drawn **blood** from me and watch the way it _trickles_ down your face. How the **dark** , crimson color brings out those moonlit eyes; so _alight,_ with a contradictory of _cool_ power and untamable _fieriness_ gives me **chills**!" The vampire told her in that morbidly passionate way of his; his arms folding over his chest as he pretended to brace himself against said chills and chortled devilishly.

The rosy hue that warmed her cheeks only added to the attractiveness of the situation, and he really wanted to have her up against the wall again. Make her angry with him again and hurt her. He found out earlier that the tiny cry of pain she made sounded lovely enough, so if she made more, wouldn't it only be more beautiful?

Ah **yes**! **There** **it was!** Another glower from the icy flower. She was embarrassed that he'd made her blush again, but mostly because of _why_ it made her blush. Alucard had always had his own _unique_ way with flattery, and she was learning that the old fashion way.

He began stalking toward her again; ready to **play** some more. Liz waited until he got close enough before faking a left punch and he dodged to the side; thinking he'd easily evaded it, when BAM! She got him with a good right hook and made the towering man stagger.

She wasn't even using all her strength, the frosty female was only using enough to keep him at bay and hurt him, and he knew it. It annoyed him that she wasn't giving him all she had, but he figured it was probably because the brunette didn't think she was supposed to fight him since they were on the same side, or at least both working for the Hellsing Organization anyway.

It was partly right, Liz didn't want to piss off her aunt, and she also didn't really have anything against the vampire. But he just kept asking for it, so Liz did as much as she needed to in order to avoid dying or anything like that.

The young Hellsing still didn't really like the thought that she enjoyed fighting in general, but it seemed to come so much easier with Alucard. It was excitingly scary _how much_ easier in fact…! What… what was she becoming…? Or was she simply always this way all along? Ugh, accursed confliction… Why must her mind be ever at war with itself… It made her sigh in irritation.

The vampire noticed her becoming a little distracted, and in order to get her attention back on him, he struck a blow to her stomach. She lurched forward as the wind was knocked out of her, before grabbing his arm and twisting it in a manner that broke it and caused it to look somewhat mangled.

As his arm was in mid-healing, she avoided his other fist by falling down and sweeping his feet out from underneath of him. He was getting to his feet when a weird little growling sound made him pause. The vampire blinked and she sweatdropped and placed a hand on her stomach.

"Heh, guess I'm hungry." She smiled sheepishly and getting to her feet. Alucard quirked an eyebrow, and then raised the other when he saw her turn around and head to the door.

"Just like **that** … you're _leaving_?" If she wasn't mistaken, he sounded upset; like a pouting child whose friend was walking out during a game that was just getting good. Liz turned her head to look at him over her shoulder; offering a friendly smile.

"Well yeah. I mean, I'm hungry and I missed dinner so I gotta make it myself." That said, she headed out of the room. A moment of hesitation and more pouting, and he followed after her. The brunette could feel him brooding and staring at the back of her head the whole way to the kitchen.

"Why are you upset? It's not like we can't fight more later." She reasoned; unable to keep from feeling bad that she upset him, and also finding it rather funny that she could over something like that.

"Hmm… I suppose." He grumbled; his arms crossed over his chest and his head turned to the side to avoid looking at her as they walked when she slowed down so they were walking side by side again. She chortled at the display of childish behavior and he just ended up scowling even more.


	18. For Further Instruction Consult Alucard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Liz and Alucard learn a little from and about each other...

They reached the kitchen and she started to look around for something to eat. Liz tried hard not to miss meals since the lass didn't know much about cooking besides making simple things.

Alucard watched with little interest as he leaned against a counter beside the sink. Henry kept the place very well and clean. Finally, a little "Ah ha!" from Liz caught his attention and he raised a brow upon seeing her standing in front of an open refrigerator; stacking her arm full of little plastic cups of something.

She hummed happily as she came over and placed them over on the counter he was near before looking for a spoon. Then, as Liz was reaching for one, she saw she still had blood on her hand and remembered that there must still be some on her face as well. The lass couldn't believe she'd forgotten about it.

Liz washed off her hands and face while Alucard watched; a little disappointed to see it being cleaned away. She caught him watching and eyed him curiously.

"What? I can't eat with dirty hands, and I don't think it's very wise to try and clean it off with my tongue, do you?" Taken aback by the blunt remark, his frown lessened and he gave a grunt of reluctant agreement. She shook her head and then picked up a pudding cup. Opening it up and scooping up a bite of the chocolaty goodness.

"What is that?" He wrinkled his nose at the way the goop looked; even if it smelled nicely of chocolate and sugar.

"It's chocolate pudding… I guess you could say my symbiote and I crave chocolate like you crave blood. So, Sir Integra gets it for me." She explained nonchalantly with a shrug. A noteworthy bit of information, though he wondered how useful chocolate could be as blood was.

"You're weird." He rumbled aloofly.

"At least I'm in good company then." She countered easily. This made him smirk and lightened his mood a bit.

"Idiot." The vampire replied.

"Yes you are." Liz quipped, and he gave a little humph and looked away to stare off at nothing in particular while she ate.

"So, can you eat human food?" She piped up when on her third cup.

"Why do you ask?" Alucard asked dryly.

"I remembered the wine bottle, and was wondering. I don't know that much about vampires. That's all." This easygoing confession made him eye her bemusedly.

"Didn't our Master tell you?" When she shook her head no, he was thoroughly surprised. Funny… Integra usually informed people from the start about that sort of thing when they became apart of the supernatural world of Hellsing.

"She never really told me anything apart from that debriefing about the Millennium incident." Liz told him. He considered for a moment.

"I _can_ consume human food or drink if I so choose, but apart from the occasional wine, I haven't really the taste for it any longer, _nor_ the need." It was a reasonable answer, and she gave a curt nod that she understood.

"Oh, okay." She ate another spoonful; briefly closing her eyes and enjoying how cool and nourishing it was. He eyed her oddly.

"Why do you need to eat chocolate?" He couldn't help wondering. After swallowing her mouthful she answered.

"Apparently, it has a chemical in it called Phenethylamine that's found in chocolate and the brain. It helps keep my symbiote healthy and mentally stable, and helps to replenish what it takes from me. But, with the healing factor I have, I don't need to eat as much of it as other symbiote hosts do… or so I've been told. I mostly consume it to help keep it and myself in check. Plus chocolate tastes _really_ good!" Liz explained airily.

"What if instead of chocolate, your aunt gave you _human_ **brains**?" Alucard teased; though, what would she do?

"Meh, I'd really miss the chocolate… but if it was all I had, then I guess I'd have to deal with it." The lass shrugged, though she made a face at the thought of having to eat someone's brains.

"Hahn, you'd eat it so **nonchalantly** , just like that?" He was amused.

"If it's all I had, yeah. I like living and I'll do my best to survive. And if my aunt was _making_ me eat it, then what choice do I have? We both have to obey our Master, don't we?" Liz said, and he couldn't help finding logic to her words. He merely gave a nod as he looked to see she was on her fourth pudding.

"So do you really kill vampires by destroying their heart or their head, or is that just in the books?" The lass had been wondering; especially since she'd probably have to fight them when they went on their mission.

"Yes. It's best to use blessed silver." She looked thoughtful at this answer.

"Hmm… what about garlic or holy water? Does any of that stuff have any effect?" The No Life King smirked at this.

"In a _way_ , yes. But all it really does is piss them off. Like poking a _hungry_ bear with a stick." She blinked and frowned.

"Well that kinda sucks…" Red eyes narrowed at her with slight interest.

"What makes you say that?" Liz gave a shrug.

"I was kinda hoping to maybe make a stake out of frozen garlic juice and stake some vampires. But now I'm starting to rethink that plan." The seriousness of her tone and her plan in general caused the Bird of Hermes to burst out laughing.

"Wh-what?" She blinked at his sudden mirth, but he only laughed harder. Liz sighed and waited for him to calm down.

"You are _quite_ the **imaginative** little hunter. I'll give you that. And who knows? It might actually work…" She brightened at this, despite his obvious light teasing.

"Really?!" He snorted with laughter.

"I've never seen anyone try. But if I can kill one by ramming my hand through its heart, I don't see why not." Alucard replied with a small shrug. He really didn't know if it would work of not, but usually just destroying the heart or head did the trick. Unless they were like him, which was rare.

"Hmm… wouldn't the smell bother you?" The fact that there was a hint of concern in her voice was nice. _Odd_ , but nice.

"Who wouldn't it bother?" He inquired coolly.

"True… I think it smells okay, but it's very overwhelming if it's too strong. So I can only imagine to someone like you with a more acute sense of smell, that it would be rather horrid." She reasoned aloud, and Alucard gave a confirming incline of his head. They stood in comfortable silence; both leaning back against the counter with a few feet in-between them as she ate.

"Do you know where they keep the blessed silver here? I have no idea where it would be." Liz asked as she finished with her sixth pudding cup; deciding that was enough dinner for the night.

"Should be in the armory. Why?" He raised his brow slightly.

"I figured maybe having some with me will aid in the mission. Better to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst, right?" She asked with a small smile. He returned it and nodded.

When they headed off this time, he lead the way and she followed politely beside; though with his long legs and strides, she had to quicken her pace to keep up. But she didn't mind nor complain.

 


	19. Get Your Bearings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alucard takes Liz to the armory...

They entered into the armory room, and he took her to the section that typically housed all the blessed bullets; including those for his own guns. Her eyes grew big like a dolls and he thought it was funny.

"Wow… Would it be okay… if I had some of these please?" The young lass asked in awe and hope as her eyes flitted over all the various kinds of ammo. Silver was a very pretty color she thought. It reminded her of the pretty cross her aunt used to wear and let her play with when she was very, very small.

"Go ahead." He answered aloofly, though the kind manner in which she asked _was_ cute. It amazed him how she could seem to find such wonder in simple things. But, he remembered that Liz had been locked away for most of her life, and probably didn't get to see much.

He watched casually as she picked over some bullets, and smirked a little when she fiddled around with the ones he used with interest. "I wonder what kind of gun uses these… Do you know?" She eyed him curiously. He chortled and pulled out his .454 Casull. Her eyes lit up with recognition from when he fired it in the library.

"That's more like a hand cannon than a pistol…" Liz commented in surprise as she looked it over; leaning in close to see it as he held it out. He pulled it slowly closer in toward himself and watched with amusement as she followed it while trying to get a better look. She didn't realize her mistake until she heard how close his voice was.

"Yes. Nothing **I** ever shoot ever gets back up **again**." The vampire informed rather proudly. Elizabeth gave a curt nod; not doubting his words in the slightest as she went back to looking at the bullet.

Alucard watched how silvery blue orbs went from the bullet in her hand to his gun again before she frowned slightly and then put it back; almost in an apologetic way for having bothered it or something.

"Do you think there's any blessed silver in here that isn't being used as ammunition?" Liz queried. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't want to mess up the bullets since they were probably very costly for her aunt to get. Alucard considered for a moment. Then he lead her over to a shelf with a box on it.

"Try that one." He rumbled coolly. Anyone else might have questioned it, but she figured he said that because he was a vampire and touching the contents of it might be unpleasant. Which led to another question.

"Hey… does touching blessed silver hurt you?" She asked as she kneeled down to pull the box off of the shelf; trying not to sneeze when a little puff of dust stirred up by turning her head up and to the side.

"Of course it does. Why? Planning to use some on _me_?" He asked with a smirk.

"Not at the moment. I was just wondering, if it hurts you, then how do you load your gun?" Liz looked up at him as she asked.

"I typically pick up the clips already loaded by Walter. Although, I suppose that Henry _boy_ will be doing it now." He answered; sounding rather doubtful of the young mans competence. Liz gave a nod of understanding.

"Well, if you ever need help, just let me know." The lass offered kindly and airily; more caught up in finding out what was in the box that she was pulling tape off of. Alucard blinked and his smirk softened to a small smile that she unfortunately ended up missing.

"Ooo! I think I can use these!" Liz said as she opened up the box. It was full of blessed silver ball bearings. Upon closer inspection, she could see little spots where they were marked with the Hellsing symbol; like the one she'd seen on Alucard's white gloves.

The brunette grabbed some handfuls of them and loaded them into her pockets; which oddly, never got any bigger because her suit stored them in the sub-space of itself. Always a very handy feature she appreciated. Elizabeth then closed the box up and put it back, before standing up and dusting herself off.

"What do you intend to do with them?" Alucard asked when she turned around to face him with a rather satisfied smile on her face. "You'll have to wait and see." Was all she'd say, before turning and heading out of the room.

"Thank you for all your help by the way. Much appreciated." Liz gratefully told him as they walked together from the armory. "You're welcome." Alucard returned in kind. Seeing as he didn't have much else to do, he found that being in the others company was surprisingly pleasant; and not boring or annoying as it was with most other humans. Plus the lass was fun to play with and pester.

The young lady decided to turn in early since they'd have to head out in the morning and wanted to be well rested. And so, once they got to her room she stopped and turned to him.

"Thanks again…" Liz said with a small smile, and he merely nodded. "Well… I'm gonna go to bed now, so… goodnight." The brunette couldn't help feeling a little unsure about the weirdness of this, seeing as the last time she tried to go to bed, he'd provoked her into ripping out his heart. Not that it hadn't been an intriguing experience…

"Goodnight." The No Life King smirked; understanding exactly why she behaved so. The very memory of it giving him such **wonderfully** warped _chills_.

"Um… okay…" A pink tinge dusted her fair features as she found that to be a bit unexpected and also by the way he regarded her. So that was it? He wasn't going to try and make her fight him or hurt him again? Liz felt a baffling mixture of relief and disappointment, but left well enough alone.

She smiled a little as she opened her door and cautiously backed into her room; shutting and locking it swiftly. Liz exhaled softly a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and leaned her forehead against the cool wood of the door; briefly closing her eyes. Well, that was weirdly interesting… but when it came to the vampiric trump card of Hellsing, when wasn't it.

Alucard smirked and chortled lightly before heading back to his own room feeling rather in good spirits; which, he noticed curiously, appeared to be common when he was around the bonny brunette.

And as both were in their respective sleeping quarters; Alucard sitting in his usual chair, and Liz laying in her bed, did they wonder what the coming mission would bring, and just how she'd fair against the Angel of Death known as Walter C. Dornez…


	20. The Devil You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it is better the Devil you know... than the one you don't!

The next day was met with quite a bit of hustle and bustle, as the servants of Hellsing followed orders to get everything ready. The tickets had arrived early that morning and so the location was now known, and preparations were being made for their departure.

Despite Alucard possessing Schrodinger's Omnipresence, he still had to travel with his coffin if he went certain distances, plus Liz didn't have such an ability, which meant she'd have to get there the old fashioned way anyways. Therefore arrangements to transport it and them had to be made.

Integra met Alucard in the entrance hall, where he was sitting languidly on his large black coffin. Seeing as they had to travel incognito, the vampire opted to wear the same guise he had when he traveled to South America.

"Good morning, Servant." Integra greeted coolly. "Good morning, Master." Alucard replied in kind; a smirk playing on his lips.

"Is Elizabeth up yet?" She asked; wondering where the girl was. His smile faltered to a sneer as he turned his head to the side to eye the doorway where he'd caught a glimpse of the lass earlier.

"She was talking to that _bumbling_ butler of yours… seemed **important**." The blonde was rather taken aback by the displeasure in his voice; like he didn't seem to fancy or think much of her niece being around Henry. The woman couldn't quite think why though.

The reasons _why_ were simple to Alucard of course. Henry was a _human_ that was right around Elizabeth's age, and the girl treated him quite kindly. It wasn't so much that he minded that, it was apparently in the brunettes curious nature, but what he didn't like was how eagerly she had approached the boy.

Liz hadn't even appeared to take notice of the vampire when she raced through the room after the butler. And his eye gave a slight twitch behind the welding glasses when he remembered how brightly she smiled and how she even gave Henry a light pat on the shoulder in greeting and asked if she could speak to him privately for a bit.

He thought the girl disliked being touched and touching. What was so **damn** important that it warranted her placing a hand on that jumpy little rabbit of a boy anyway? Integra quirked an eyebrow at seeing her servant glare at a door and wondered what had him suddenly so grumpy. Hmm, perhaps it was because he was up during the day? She recalled he didn't much enjoy it.

"I see. Well that works fine. I needed to speak with you privately." Integra told him. He turned his head to give her his attention; his eyebrow raised.

"Do you _now_? And what is it, my Master, that you wish to discuss with me?" Alucard inquired with mild interest; his head cocking to the side as a few strands of his long, black hair fell across his pale face.

"Yes. It pertains to my niece…" Integra's calm look became rather grim, as if she were on the verge of having one of her angry outbursts.

"You are to follow the orders I have given you Vampire, but there is one particular one that I want you to give your utmost attention to." The blonde told him in that commanding tone that drew his full attention, and his expression became one of stoniness as he listened.

" _Whatever_ you wish of me, my Master. I am your **weapon** to _wield_ , the _monster_ for you to **unleash.** My guns are _loaded_ , I've pulled the slide and the safety is **off**. You have but to give the command **Sir Integra** , and I shall lay _waste_ to any and **all** in my wake! I-" Alucard had started off in his usual rant; his passion for violence growing with each word and becoming apparent, but then, an odd thing happened…

"That's QUITE enough Alucard!" Integra cut him off sharply; looking rather annoyed by his usual overzealous speech. His eyes widened; a little taken aback, even if his rants did tend to irk her in the first place. She heaved a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose to try and quell her anger; which was directed at both the Round-Table Conference and herself.

"You are to follow my orders; investigate, let Elizabeth do her part, and then do as commanded. However, I am adding to that list, as this order is one of most import to me. You, Alucard, are to take _good_ care of my niece while on this mission and ensure her safe return." Integra finished in a final manner that left no room for argument.

Alucard stared at his Master in astonishment; not quite sure what to think of that. Then, a grin spread across his face. " _Really_ now, Sir Integra… you would trust _me_ , a **monster** , to watch over your _innocent_ niece?" He asked in devilish amusement with a raise of one eyebrow.

Integra gave him a knowing smirk of her own that he found noteworthy, before she removed her cigar and exhaled a puff of smoke. "As they say Servant, better the _Devil_ you know, than the one you _don't_." Alucard blinked at this, and then gave a roar of laughter.

He stood and gave her a deep and respectful bow, before peering up at her with red, crescent eyes and a Cheshire grin. "Orders _received,_ Master… I understand." Alucard stated, and she gave a curt nod with a satisfied look.

"Good." Integra managed a smug smirk that faded back into her usual aloof expression when a noise caught their attention.


	21. An Icy Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Elizabeth is ordered to do something unexpected...

The door Alucard had previously glared at opened, and out walked both Henry and Elizabeth. The young woman looked to be in surprisingly better spirits than the vampire had seen her in earlier, to which he couldn't help finding a tad annoying and suspicious; but mostly his annoyance was directed at Henry who seemed to be in a smiling mood as well.

Upon seeing Integra and Alucard looking at them however, Henry immediately went back to being his usual frightened and nervous self. Seeing the change in the boys demeanor, Liz was about to ask what was wrong. But before she could even open her mouth, Henry hurried off.

She watched as he hastened over to where her aunt stood and so she followed and gave a curtsey. "Good morning, Sir Integra." Liz greeted pleasantly; having yet to notice Alucard yet. A fact that irked him a touch more.

"Morning, Elizabeth." Integra eyed the girls good mood and then Henry before returning her gaze. "Do inform me as to what you were doing with Henry." The tone directed at Liz was casual but held a touch of warning to it. Alucard was quite curious as to what the answer would be as he sat on his coffin.

"I'm sorry, Sir Integra. I didn't mean any harm by it. All I did was ask Henry if I could take a snack for the trip. No idea how long we'd be gone and all." Integra regarded her niece who was telling the truth, but not the _whole_ truth.

She quirked a blonde eyebrow. "And exactly how many snacks did you pack?" At that Liz sweatdropped and rubbed the back of her head, while Henry suddenly looked more nervous than usual and began to fidget with his pocket watch.

"Um… well… maybe just a _small_ dozen or so." Liz said in what she hoped was a reasonable and apologetic tone. Integra's good eye twitched and she heaved a sigh. "You _do_ realize such preparations have already been taken care of, don't you?" At the look on Liz's face she could tell that the girl hadn't. Liz after all was used to tending to herself for the most part.

Integra facepalmed and wondered why she had such trying servants. "Just… give Henry what you have." The blonde told the younger Hellsing. Although, she was curious as to where she had snacks packed, seeing as the girls pockets didn't look full.

"Yes Ma'am…" Liz frowned in disappointment but obeyed. She began withdrawing handfuls of chocolate bars from her pockets. Integra's eyes widened and she sweatdropped at seeing that. "H-how are you doing that?" The question came out in a blurt of bewildered awe.

"My symbiote does it. I have a sort of sub-space storage. I can fit lots of stuff in it." Liz told her aunt with a smile; feeling a little proud that her aunt seemed amazed by something she could do. The girl thought she might've been appalled. But even Alucard found it interesting.

Soon poor Henry was doing his best to hold all of the chocolate bars in his arms and balance them as he began his tricky trip back to the kitchen. Integra sweatdropped and exhaled as she shook her head when she heard the young man trip and fall down with a pitiful yelp.

Alucard smirked and resisted the urge to snicker when he heard Henry fall down and the clatter of the candy bars from the hall beyond the door, but a small sneer twisted his features when he saw that Elizabeth was gazing with concern at the door; as if she wanted to go and help the bumbling butler out.

Liz felt the feeling of eyes upon her that was steadily becoming familiar. She turned and saw the expression the vampire directed at her, and her eyebrow rose as she regarded him; wondering what she'd done to earn such an odd look.

The No Life King gave a gruff little "humph" and turned his head away from her. Elizabeth blinked and wondered what that was all about. Integra found it curious as well, but wasn't in any mood to deal with a moody blood sucker and decided to get them back on the task of their mission.

"Well then, Elizabeth. If you so feel the need to stash things in your peculiar pockets, then why don't you make yourself useful and use your talent to transport Alucard's coffin." Integra told her in a tone that held no room for argument. But Liz was quite taken aback; her silver-blue eyes flitting from the gigantic coffin and back to her Master with uncertainty.

"W-wait… do what now? I… don't know if I can store something that… big in my suit…" The brunette had never done anything like that before and wasn't sure if she should. Did her aunt really expect her to do something like that?

Integra's expression became stern. "If you can't stash that blasted box then I'll have to have the bloody thing transported on a smuggling ship. And every time I do that, we risk the safety of Hellsing's most valuable weapon." Liz bowed her head slightly in apology as she peered up at her aunt pleadingly. "I… I didn't mean any disrespect, Sir Hellsing. It's just that…"

Integra held up her hand and the symbiotic host quieted. "I have every confidence that you can. Now do as I say and stow Alucard's coffin away inside of your suit." Liz would've opened her mouth to politely protest again but thought better of it when she saw how the blonde looked in no mood for it.

"Y-yes, Master." The brunette said with a deeper bow of her head; doing her best to avoid eye contact with the vampire as he stood off of his coffin when she approached it. For some reason she just knew he was smirking about her ordeal.

And indeed he was finding the situation both intriguing and fun. However, he chose to stay silent and watch what was about to happen. Liz eyed the large black box with a small little pout of a frown that made his smirk widen.

Integra decided to leave now that she knew her niece was going to follow her orders, and saw that her presence was no longer needed. She bid them a quick farewell before departing to her office to tend to the mountain of paperwork that was usually waiting for her. And for about a minute or so neither servant moved.

Then, her usual outfit of baggy military styled attire shifted and changed into more appropriate clothing she was told by Integra before that would be worn on the mission. She stood in a simple yet elegant blue dress that fell passed her knees, had long sleeves and a delicate white snowflake pattern trim around the sleeve cuffs and neck. The young woman also had matching Mary Jane shoes that had little silver buckles.

She wore black stockings and a blackish navy blue pea coat with matching buttons. The Bird of Hermes blinked. He hadn't been expecting that to happen; much less how lovely she looked in her Victorian styled garb!

The vampire found he couldn't stop looking her over, until she shifted, or rather her clothing shifted. From the confines of her jacket came several thin tendrils of perpetually changing black and blue, that stretched out towards his coffin like hungry, living vines towards the sunlight.

When the tendrils brushed over the box, Alucard felt a chill run throughout his body as if it were made of icy electricity. Liz was busy concentrating on what she had to do to have noticed the surprised look on his face as he stared at her.

Her symbiotic strands wrapped around the container as if they were liquid serpents; crisscrossing this way and that as they began to pull it towards her torso. The front of her dress took on the same appearance of the strands and swirled like a portal as the bottom part of the coffin began pressing against it.

He watched with morbid fascination as she closed her eyes; her expression full of focus as his coffin began disappearing inside of her body! Crimson slits widened and he took an unconscious step toward her to watch better. Feeling a strange compulsion to get closer to her as he felt more frosty tingles ghosting over him.

When the coffin was a little over halfway gone, he heard her make a strange sort of strained sound, like the kind one would hear from the person they were strangling. His eyes trailed their way up from where his bed met her stomach to see that young Elizabeth looked to be in some sort of pain.

The Count wasn't sure why, but he was caught between taking delight in her agony and feeling an almost foreign pain in spite of it himself. It seemed the human turned monster did have some reason for being apprehensive about such a task.

Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut as she tried to put her mind toward accomplishing the order given rather than how ill it was causing her to feel. The brunettes mouth was shut and she was biting her lower lip to keep quiet, but was doing it so hard that her canine on the right side had broken the skin; leaving a thin line of dark, liquid life to trickle down as she tried to remember to breath. And as he watched it, he couldn't help thinking it smelled _sweeter_ than he remembered…

It took her several minutes, but once done and the coffin had vanished into the shadowy vortex of her suit, the lass ended up collapsing down onto her hands and knees. Before he realized what he was doing, the vampire found himself kneeling before her with all the finesse of a raven upon a fresh corpse.

For a moment he couldn't hear her breathing and she did not move. But all at once, her body seemed to come back alive as he heard her gasp a sharp intake of breath; like a drowning victim whose lungs had been purged of water.

Her eyes opened at the same time she arched up to a half sitting position; seeming momentarily confused as to where she was or maybe even _who_ she was as those sparkling blues gazed up at him in bewilderment.

Alucard merely stared back; wondering what curious thing might happen next and why she seemed out of it. But then, in the next moment, she blinked and seemed to ground herself back in reality, and notice that they were a lot closer than was necessary. As usual, she found it made her uneasy.

"Why are… you on the floor?" Liz asked; trying to steady her breathing and regain some composure. She tried to move away from him to get up or at least sit back, but found that any movement caused her to wish she hadn't. Which meant she was stuck being so freaking close until he moved. And she doubted he would.

The whole ordeal of having to force her symbiote to take in and store a much larger item than it was used to had caused her much unpleasantness. It had been quite a while since she had exerted the symbiote and her body like that for her to have temporarily blacked out.

It was why she had awoken all disorientated. But the people at the Cage who used to push her beyond her limitations had never cared, and it made her wonder if her aunt did. Was that why she hadn't bothered to hear Liz's reasons? Hmm… certainly food for thought… But one thing was for sure, the red clad lurker didn't seem bothered by what had just happened.

He was grinning cockily at seeing that she couldn't retreat; that the poor lass was all but paralyzed by pain. "I could ask you the same thing." The vampire teased; making her squirm and flinch at the act when he leaned his towering form down a little more.

It occurred to the poor girl just how alone they were right then. Any servants helping with preparations were elsewhere or had left as they had finished, and Integra and Henry had long since been absent. It was just her… and the vampire Alucard.

Just her luck it would seem…


	22. Just a Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alucard only wanted just a taste...

Liz shot him a small glare, but it only served to further entertain him. He gave a low, airy chortle and she growled in irritation before trying to jerk back and sit up. Only for Liz to end up doubling over as a coughing fit struck her.

As her body convulsed with each cough, he could actually _feel_ it. The reason being was because his coffin, in its own mysterious way, was an extension of himself like his clothes or Elizabeth's symbiote.

And therefore, having it inside of her suit like that allowed them to have a strange sort of connection that even he couldn't explain. That coffin was his domain, his kingdom. It was where he was born and where he would die!

To have it hidden within the dark and warm confines of the fascinating young lass caused a strangely comfortable feeling to sweep over and stay with him when the last bit disappeared from sight. It felt so _intimate_ and drew him to her even more. And he couldn't help wondering if she felt even the slightest bit like he did…

Elizabeth did feel that surreal connection, but understood it less than the vampire seeing as she was not only unused to feeling like that and because it was currently hurting her. But even so, she couldn't help thinking that some part of it was kind of nice.

Thankfully though, the lass managed to cover her mouth, and when it subsided and her body stopped convulsing from the coughs and agonizing spasms they caused, she pulled it away to see with a frown that the smooth flesh was spattered with a dark splotch of red.

Alucard quirked a brow at that, before he coiled his fingers around her delicate looking wrist to get a better look. She made a move to pull it away and a sound of protest, but he ignored it. Her inhuman strength was weakened, but he was confident he could overpower her regardless.

Those crimson orbs practically glowed through the heavily tinted lenses of his welding glasses as he pulled the creamy, scarlet stained limb toward his mouth. And even with said eyewear on, for a full second their eyes met right before he leaned in to lick at the blood on her palm.

The smooth, cool wet texture of his tongue sliding over her hand like a child trying to clean the last bit of cake frosting from his plate caught the brunette off guard. She had thought it would feel slimy and disgusting, but the way the vampire was doing it felt… rather _nice_.

The tension in her arm relaxed after a few seconds of having discovered his intentions, and though she was still rather uneasy about being touched, Liz couldn't help but find solace in the fact that at least it felt pleasant.

He held her wrist firmly yet carefully; for with his strength he could easily break any one of her bones without even trying. And even though he didn't need to be, since she could've healed from it, Alucard was mindful of those sharp teeth of his.

It was the simple fact that he was taking _care_ in his actions towards her that caused the lass to keep her mouth shut and keep herself calm. If she tried to jerk away or fight him, it would've been very rude and she doubted she wanted to be stuck on a mission with a pissed off vampire who had total power over her authority AND strength wise.

Alucard had his eyes closed as he took his time lapping up the _sweet_ scarlet. A low rumble of a hum escaping him as he'd finally gotten another taste of that _uniquely_ delectable virgin blood she possessed. Her creamy flesh was as good as it looked, and he had an alarmingly strong urge to **tear** into it.

Elizabeth gasped sharply when she felt those razor teeth of his graze across the skin of her hand. And when she did, he felt the lass tense again and that anxious desire to put space between them practically radiated off of the young woman. Hahn… Such a skittish thing…

Alas, no sooner had he been allowed the small treat, did he find that he had licked her palm clean. His lip curled into a scowl; more than displeased at how fleeting the morsel had been. Just like the first time he'd tasted the enthralling currency of her soul, did he feel left wanting more.

Yes, it was true that vampires loved blood like a fat person on a diet loves their favorite food, but very rarely would one ever find someone whose blood was found to be so _alluring_. In fact, Alucard could not recall a time when he himself had ever come across such a predicament.

Some would've assumed it might have been when he made the Harker woman his fledgling, but this was beyond false, as he had only done that to punish her and her little gaggle of goons for their feeble attempts to stop his reign of terror.

And Mina Harker, being a married woman, did certainly NOT possess anything akin to virginal blood when he'd bitten her. Hers had been like any he could get from one of his medical packets. Plain and boring. Nothing like this girls **dark** and bewilderingly bittersweet nectar that made his mouth water and his teeth _ache_.

The only pleasure he'd taken in turning Mina was purely out of cruelty and spite to show that the so-called "pure soul" those men fought for was just as worthless as any other. That their God did not exist and would not come to save them from such a monster as he. And that they were all doomed to simply rot away once he and his kind had finished feasting upon their pathetic souls.

Smoldering catlike slits stared intently at her from over the edge of his glasses. It caused a shiver to run down her spine and she felt frozen. Locked in that damn gaze of his again. Stuck and unable to move from a combination of pain, panic and something the isolated lass couldn't fathom.

It felt suddenly hard to breath. Like being water boarded. She wanted to catch her breath but simply couldn't. Her lungs _burned_ and her chest felt tight. Her breath came out in quick, irregular little puffs; causing her to feel lightheaded and those luscious pink lips to part ever so slightly. The light scent of blood still upon her breath as she tried and failed to catch her breath. It felt like she was having a small panic attack.

His keen sense of smell and close proximity to her picked up on it easily and his pupils dilated just a fraction. Curiously enough, as his eyes trailed from hers to her mouth, he noticed something unexpected. Her lip, where she had bitten it, was still bleeding; if only _just_.

A sinuous line of red that ran from the wound to her chin that just **begged** to be licked away. And not being one to want to waste an opportunity at the moment, Alucard loomed down; holding her wrist firmly to discourage any movement. Not like she could anyway.

Silvery eyes squeezed shut as she braced herself for whatever it was he was trying to do, for it was all the lass was able to in her current predicament; her symbiote still adjusting and unable to help her. She hoped she didn't end up passing out…

The whole situation was a horrid and confounding mishmash of nausea, anxiety, agony, and some strange feelings she couldn't quite name that made her feel all weird and _tingly_. The unfamiliarity of it only caused the lass to find it all the more irksome. She hated not understanding and mostly because of the fact it was due to her prior imprisonment.

Alucard didn't pay it any mind, and in fact took great pleasure in knowing how much he was effecting the little Hellsing. If anything, he wanted to do more to her. She looked so pretty in pain like this. So _vulnerable_ and yet still so **defiant**! That icy fieriness she possessed always seemed to spark something in him.

He reached up and ran those long, capable fingers through soft umber locks. Seeing as his gloves were similar to her symbiote, it was more like skin on skin contact than anything and he relished every moment and sensation, for it had been far too long since he had felt anything akin to them. If he had ever felt them at all…

It would all be _so easy_ … instead of brushing the hair back out of her face like this, he could've just as easily choked the life out of her or simply snapped that slender neck with a flick of his wrist. Watched with morbid fascination as the light died in those _soul piercing_ eyes, feel that lissom body go limp and grow as cold as those frosty powers of hers…

Oh, but where would the **fun** be in killing such a _scrumptious_ source of entertainment? He wanted to keep this one alive as long as possible to play with. Whether she knew it or not, the young Hellsing provided him with all sorts of interesting little gifts and amusements. Igniting fires within him that he never thought could be, being the undead monstrosity that he was.

And the thought made him grin as he slid his hand from her hair to cup her cheek gently. The vampire was so close to her face now that she could feel his rancid breath on her face. It tickled and caused her nose to wrinkle. She wished he'd have the decency to brush or eat a mint.

Then, she felt that long, cool tongue of his lapping lightly at the line of scarlet; taking his time and enjoying it. He started at the side of her chin where it dribbled down and made his way up to the wound on her lip, as if she were a melting ice cream cone and he was hell-bent on catching every bit.

"I'm not… your damn dinner y'know…!" Liz gritted out angrily; causing the No Life King to chortle in that dark yet good natured way of his. "No, most certainly not." He agreed to her surprise, before he cocked his head slightly to stare right into her eyes; his mouth right against the bloodied part of her lip. "You're _far_ too **sweet** for that."

Her eyes grew wide in shock before looking quickly away; her face reddened with both anger and embarrassment that he thought was quite a lovely shade on her. He grinned toothily and flicked the tip of his tongue teasingly over the little wound that had yet to heal. "Mmnh… **Yes** , I'd say you're more like _dessert_." The vampire decided impishly.

"And you're a creep." Her insult ended up not being as harsh as she meant it to come across, what with the ridiculous situation she was in and the fact that the poor girl was still blushing. "Hahn… is that the best you can come up with? Creep? Really now little one, I expected better from a Hellsing than that." The smug bastard taunted.

"I do a lot _better_ with actions than with words. Just like you would do well if you brushed your teeth once in a while. I mean, what are you, the poster boy for halitosis?" Came the witty retort that sounded more like her usual fiesty self. This caused the Count to pull back just enough to see her face as he blinked; clearly taken aback.

Then Alucard smirked cockily and leaned in; giving her cheek an oddly affectionate little nudge with his nose as if a reward for her good job. "Much better. Too bad you're stuck with only words… I **much** prefer those _actions_ of yours." She closed her eyes and tried not to cringe when she felt him prodding and irritating the wound with the tip of his tongue to make it bleed some more.

"But that's fine for now… I can supply enough of the latter for both of us." Liz tried and failed to suppress a shiver when she felt him lightly rake his sharp teeth over her bottom lip; the point of one just barely catching on the little puncture and tugging the tender bit of flesh forward; making her gasp.

"W-would you stop that!" She exclaimed abashedly; already feeling bad enough and not wanting to deal with him and his sadistic crap. "Stop what?" He pretended not to know what she was talking about and did it again.

Applying a little more pressure the second time, but only just enough for a fang to dig in; earning him a fresh little stream of liquid life for him to sample. Elizabeth winced and tried to keep her eyes shut, so that she didn't have to look at that stupid smug face of his; attempting to ignore him in the hopes that he'd just get bored and go away.

 _Oh,_ but how could he get bored of such a fun little toy like her? However, the ignoring part did irk him. How could they play if she wouldn't participate… such a silly little thing she was. For that he gave her injured lip a harsh nip that drew a little "Eeep" from her that made him smile.

"Aren't we supposed to be… going on a mission?" She tried another attempt to make him stop; this one being distraction. Poor Elizabeth didn't feel well and everything he was doing made her feel bemused and annoyed, because on some level that the lass didn't want to acknowledge, it felt _shamefully good_.

"We are." He mused as he lapped lazily at the trickling red. The thumb of his hand that securely held her wrist unconsciously caressing over the warm, smooth skin. "Um… shouldn't we be going then? I-I don't think Sir Integra will… approve of us slacking off like this." Liz reasoned; wondering if she would ever be able to breath properly again, and he paused for a moment to consider.

He frowned because unfortunately, she was right. But then, just when he thought his fun might have been ruined, a thought occurred to him and his sinister smirk returned almost as quickly as it had faltered. "You're right… we should continue this another time." Alucard told her calmly as he began to move back.

A feeling of relief and disappointment swept over her, though more relief than anything. She thought that now she was safe, but then, Alucard maneuvered around her and the next thing Liz knew, the Count was picking her up!

The crafty vampire grinned down at his pretty prize as he held the baffled brunette in his arms bridal style and started walking off before the girls shock wore off. "Why are you carrying me?" The question came out before she could think better of it.

Without missing a beat he answered as coolly as ever. "Well if you can't walk, and we need to head out on our mission, how else did you expect to get there?" She paused and then scowled as she managed to turn her head to look away from him.

Alucard gave a laugh that sounded more like a bark while he carried the stubborn young woman out of the Hellsing manor and out to the vehicle that was waiting for them. A servant saw him coming and opened the car door for him; eyeing him strangely as Alucard climbed in swiftly with Liz in his arms.

The driver saw they were in and when Alucard told him to drive, the man gave a nod and a "Yes Sir" before obeying. The ravenette positioned her into more of a sitting position on his lap, as if she were a doll he could do whatever he wanted with.

Then, he pressed a button to close the divider between their compartment and the drivers so that way they could have some privacy. Her face was dusted a rosy hue from having been carried. She felt so _useless_ … but she supposed that the vampire could've done a lot worse to her.

Now that she did her best to push her anger aside and think more clearly, did she realize that he had been rather nice to her… despite him still being a creepy pest. Liz looked at him finally. "Um…" The small sound was enough to draw his attention. He regarded the lass calmly.

"Thanks…" She muttered a bit blushingly since she was still irked at him for all the teasing he did. His eyebrow rose and she had to elaborate. "For carrying me I mean. I know you didn't have to… so thank you." Liz managed to say in a much nicer tone as her mood softened.

She wasn't feeling as bad as she previously had and she was able to flex her fingers now, so the fact that it dawned on her that the Hellsing trump card had actually been kind to her also helped her mood to improve. The vampire was at first taken aback, seeing as he figured she'd been pretty pissed off, but took her kind words and honesty to heart and grinned.

"Well if you're really so grateful, how about another _taste_?" Alucard quipped; his tongue flicking hungrily over his lips. Elizabeth stared at him for a few seconds before she glowered venomously. "You… you're _so_ … aarrgh!" And with all the strength she could muster, the young Hellsing managed to head butt the side of his face!

It slammed his head against the side of the door that was right before the glass, causing his hat and glasses to become askew. For about a minute, they stayed like that. Alucard with his head cocked at an awkward angle against the car and Liz who ended up slumping limply against him with her face resting on his shoulder.

His body began to shake with laughter that rumbled in a rich, eerie baritone, that she could feel with the way she'd ended up falling against him. It was both pleasant and irritating at the same time, and Liz half wanted to bash him again if only she had the strength. Damn coffin…

"I'll take that as a no then." He jested jovially. Always more than happy to receive such quaint little love taps from his violent playmate. Liz heaved an exasperated sigh and ended up instinctively rubbing her face against the cheeky vampires shoulder to try and hide her face before she knew what she was doing.

The brunette froze and then said hell with it and buried her face against the fabric of his attire where neck and shoulder met. It was soft and smelled nicely of him; she much preferred this scent to his breath. Having to be close like this was oddly comforting at least…

"I'll make you pay later, jerk face." Liz grumbled into his collar; not wanting him to know she ended up finding her current position placating. He gave a snort of laughter. "I look forward to it, half pint." Alucard snaked his arms around her as if he were her seatbelt.

And the young Hellsing couldn't help finding that she did in fact feel secure. And sleepy too… Hmm… Well, maybe just a little nap couldn't hurt. She didn't really want to, because no doubt he'd get some kind of perverse satisfaction out of having her asleep in his arms, which she was right of course.

But now that she wasn't freaking out and could breath again, the stubborn symbiotic host ended up feeling really tired; giving in after a few minutes of the combined lack of conversation, the purr of the car engine and the rich scent of the fearsome vampire holding her snugly in his arms.

Alucard heard her breathing pattern change and looked to find the fiery female had fallen asleep. He smiled gently at the sight and pulled the lass nearer; resting his chin atop that bonny head and scenting her much like she had him moments ago. His cold body soaking up her seemingly endless warmth like a coal in a fire.


	23. Rest in Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Alucard checks them into their hotel...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I updated it! LoL. Thanks to all of you lovelies who have reviewed and who are still reading this. ;3 It's been cool getting reviews and getting to know how much all of you like it. X3
> 
> I used google translate to do the stuff in French, so if you don't know what they're saying, just translate it in google. LoL I just hope it translates the same way that it did for me. That site is weird.

While in the car, and with the use of his own talents, Alucard changed from his usual attire to the elegant charcoal black suit with the blood red shirt that he had on when having gone to South America, on the mission where he fought the Dandy Man. What a waste of power usage that pathetic piece of garbage was… Ah well, it _was_ somewhat amusing to make the coward **scream** like a pig, he supposed.

The trip was a few hours long with the combination of driving and flying, and then some more driving. But the peculiar pair ended up at their hotel while it was still around the afternoon. Elizabeth slept sounding in the vampires strong arms.

He couldn't help feeling cocky at that, especially when during their flight when she made a frightened little mewl to suggest a bad dream, as the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees, only for her to calm and quiet after reflexively nuzzling his neck and grasping the front of his shirt.

Her fingers curled tightly in the fabric as she clung to him like he was a life preserver in a raging sea. The brunettes breathing evened back out; the warm, moist little puffs so close to his skin he could feel her lips ever so lightly brushing against his neck every once in a while with the subtle swaying shift of the plane.

Being in such a _cozy_ situation and it being daylight caused Alucard to feel rather relaxed. If the girl didn't have his box of a bed safely stored away, then he could've curled up with her in it, and slept through the ride in the private jet.

But just as he was about to doze off, they landed and the slight bump that came with it jostled Elizabeth. She frowned in her sleep and tried to move herself closer to her vampiric source of comfort; pressing those pouty lips to the exposed flesh of his throat. He shivered at the contact and when she let out a little "Nnmh." mewl of distress.

Alucard gave her a little reassuring squeeze that did the trick. He could feel the slumbering brunette smile ever so softly, and he felt the urge to laugh. Such an oddity… a **monster** comforting an _innocent_ little girl, who didn't know if she was a monster herself or a human.

It was simply predator comforting prey, and the notion itself was rather humorous, if not ridiculous. Yet, here they were… Alucard shooting the pilot a death glare when he entered their compartment and spoke too loudly to announce their arrival, and Elizabeth holding onto him like a child would their beloved teddy bear.

"What _am_ I to do with you, _little Hellsing_?" The No Life King sighed softly; speaking more to himself than the sleeping lass. Unable to keep his subtle frown from becoming a smile when she gave him a sleepy nuzzle as if in unconscious answer.

"Hahn… _what_ **indeed** …" The aristocratic vampire mused with red eyes glowing gently; walking into the lobby of their hotel. He still had her in his arms and she clung to him without any of the resistance that she'd have undoubtedly put up were she conscious. It was rather peaceful, he had to admit…

Passersby of all variety eyed him and whispered amongst themselves or kept their mouths shut. Some looked or spoke because of how handsome or scary they thought he was, or how sweet they thought the peculiar pair were, or how endearing it was to see that chivalry wasn't dead; though in Alucard's case it certainly was _undead_.

But the attention he very much loathed was the kind directed solely at _his_ sleeping sylph. He shot the few onlookers he could see warning glares that caused them to shuffle away as his hold on her tightened possessively.

As if sensing his distress, she gave him another nuzzle and mewled softly, though that only hastened his stride toward the check-in counter. He really didn't need to get in trouble with Integra for massacring whoever looked at Elizabeth… even if he was sure it would be worth it…

The man behind the counter beamed a friendly smile when he saw Alucard approach holding a pretty little thing. "Bonjour Monsieur! And welcome to zhe 'Otel Merle!" The Frenchman greeted cordially.

Figures such an atrocious thing as a gladiatorial fight would be held in France of all countries… sure, they had good wine, but the rest of the place reeked of the rot that the cesspool of a nation really was under its over exaggerated image of romanticism and mystique. But then again… what country didn't that apply to?

The lackey behind the counter had an accent that reminded him a little of Pip; which, while somewhat humorous was made a touch annoying by the way the guy kept glancing at Elizabeth. Why couldn't these scumbags keep their eyes to themselves? It made him want to _rip_ them out and **crush them** beneath his boot.

However, now was the time to be in character and play the part of a human. And so, he put on a casual smile like he would with any other simpleton; all the while his fingers flexing and unflexing where they held her.

"Bonjour, I have a reservation for a suite." Alucard told him coolly. The man turned to his computer and began typing.

"And what iz your name, Monsieur?" He asked politely.

"Arthur Seward." A few moments later the man clapped his hands briskly and looked cheerfully at the tall, intimidating man.

"Ah, yes! We have been expecting you! A honeymoon suite for one Mr. and Mrs. Seward, my congratulations, Monsieur! I take it zhat lovely gurl is Mrs. Seward, no?" The Frenchman gestured to the woman "Mr. Seward" was holding, while the vampire King tried to fathom why the hell they were set up in a honeymoon suite…

Oh well, might as well play along. _'Could be fun.'_ He thought with a smirk.

"Why yes… I'm afraid all the excitement of the wedding left her _quite_ exhausted." He lied as easily as the sun shone.

"Oh ze poor dear! I 'ope you two enjoy your stay 'ere zhen. Any of your luggage shall be brought up to your room shortly." The man said as he handed Alucard a key.

"Very well. We'll be on our way then." Alucard said before turning swiftly and walking toward the elevator. When they arrived in their room, their luggage was waiting for them. It wasn't really much for luggage though, considering it was just a small navy blue bag that was undoubtedly for Elizabeth.

Glancing around the room, the nobleman frowned at seeing all the sunlight that came in through the windows. It took no effort in using his powers to close the curtains; blanketing their suite in a cozy darkness.

"Hmm…" Alucard hummed thoughtfully to himself. Being up during the day always left him feeling rather exhausted and a touch cranky, so perhaps a nap would be a good idea. However, with his coffin in its comfy storage, he opted on using the bed.

He strolled into the bedroom and saw that there was quite a large bed, what with it being a honeymoon suite and all. And was glad it wasn't some gaudy heart shaped abomination. It did however have dark red, velvety coverings that he couldn't help smirking at.

The Count took off his sunglasses and set them on the table beside the bed. He laid down, taking care to do so easily so as not to stir the lass. The vampire rested there on his back with her snoozing comfortably on top of him. She sighed softly; one hand tightening its grip on the front of his shirt and the other finding its way to his shoulder and curling into his jacket.

Alucard gave a lazy flick of his fingers to make the blankets cover them, before he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her a bit more firmly. Much to his surprise, he found the rhythmic beating of her heart, her steady breathing and wondrous body heat put him out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao! Poor Liz has no idea how cute she is. XD In my opinion, you just can't have a proper anime or Hellsing fic without some cuteness and comedy/humor. X3 Besides, the same goes for romance. 
> 
> Been busy with stuff and trying to get around to updating/working on my other multi-chapter fics. So hopefully I'll get some more done soon, but like life, there's no telling. (:


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